The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that employers conducted 1,226 mass layoffs in the third quarter (July-September) of 2011, causing 184,493 workers to lose their jobs for at least 31 days.
Third-quarter (Q3) mass layoffs and worker job losses this year were the fewest since Q3 of 2007. Both numbers have now decreased from the previous year for eight quarters in a row.
Fifty percent of the employers reporting mass layoffs in Q3 2011 anticipated recalling at least some of the workers they laid off, which was up from 45 percent in the same quarter of last year.
However, of the employers expecting to recall, only 29 percent indicated that they would extend the offer to all of the workers whom they laid off, one of the lowest Q3 percentages since the BLS started tracking such. Sixty-one percent indicated that they would recall at least half, also one of the lowest Q3 percentages. Only 58 percent expected to start recalling some number of laid-off workers within six months, yet another Q3 low.
In manufacturing, an industry that analysts consider to be a gauge of labor-market health, both mass layoffs and resulting worker job losses were among the fewest in a third quarter since the BLS started tracking the numbers. However, only 38 percent of the manufacturing employers reporting Q3 2011 mass layoffs anticipated recalling at least some laid-off workers.
Construction, another key industry to analysts, experienced a decline of 22 in the number of Q3 mass layoffs from the same quarter of last year, but resulting worker job losses preliminarily went up by 24. Construction lost 20,000 jobs in October, after gaining 27,000 in September.
Overall, the number of mass layoffs decreased in 13 of the 18 major private-sector industries from Q3 of last year, with the transportation and warehousing and the accommodation and food services sectors showing the largest declines in worker job losses.
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Among the four main geographic regions, the West reported the highest number of worker job losses from mass layoffs in Q3 followed by the Midwest, South and Northeast. Three of the regions (and eight of the nine census divisions within) reported fewer worker job losses than in the same quarter a year ago.
All states and the District of Columbia reported mass layoffs in Q3, with California reporting the most worker job losses followed by New York and Illinois. Twenty-eight states reported fewer job losses than in Q3 a year ago, with New York and Florida leading the pack.
In California and nationally as well, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area reported the largest number of initial claimants for unemployment benefits in Q3 2011, among 372 metropolitan areas tracked by the BLS.
The national unemployment rate (not seasonally adjusted) averaged 9.1 percent in Q3 2011, down from 9.5 percent in Q3 of last year. The unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) fell to 8.8 percent in March, its lowest level in two years; but, since then, it’s hovered between 9.0 and 9.2 percent. It edged back down to 9.0 in October.
If you’re a recent victim of a layoff or a reduction in work hours, then you might be eligible for unemployment benefits or unemployment benefit extensions through the state unemployment office. You might also be eligible to continue your employer-provided group health insurance benefits through COBRA. To look for a new job, start at the Job Search page.
For more details about Q3 2011 mass layoffs and related worker job losses (separations), read the “Mass Layoffs Summary” from the BLS. Coming next are monthly mass layoff numbers for October 2011, which the BLS intends to release on November 22. To receive notification like this of the next monthly and quarterly mass-layoff reports, subscribe to Employee Rights Blog for free.
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Quarterly mass layoff numbers do not amount to the total of monthly mass layoff numbers reported by the BLS for the same quarter. That’s because the BLS counts only layoffs of 31 days or more in its quarterly report, but it counts layoffs of any duration in its monthly report. Numbers associated with mass layoffs are preliminary and subject to revision by the BLS, based on data that was not initially available. The mass layoffs chart pictured above was provided by the BLS.
