The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that private-sector nonfarm employers conducted 1,077 mass layoffs in the first quarter (January-March) of 2012, causing 182,101 workers to lose their jobs for at least 31 days.
First-quarter (Q1) mass layoffs were the fewest since Q1 2006, while manufacturing layoffs and worker job losses declined to their lowest quarterly levels since the BLS began tracking them in 1995.
Forty-nine percent of the employers reporting mass layoffs in Q1 2012 anticipated recalling at least some of the workers they laid off. Of those employers, 22 percent said that they’d recall all workers and 64 percent said that they’d recall at least half. Fifty-seven percent said that they intend to recall workers within six months.
Manufacturing, an industry that analysts consider to be a gauge of labor-market health, experienced 210 mass layoffs and 28,393 worker job losses. Thirty-six percent of the employers anticipated recalling at least some laid-off workers.
Construction, another key industry to analysts, experienced 225 mass layoffs and 26,795 worker job losses primarily due to contract completion.
Overall, the number of Q1 2012 mass layoffs decreased in 16 of the 18 major private-sector industries from Q1 2011, with manufacturing and construction 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 mass layoff events in Q1 2012, followed by the Midwest, Northeast and South. All of the regions (and eight of the nine census divisions within) reported fewer mass layoff events than they did a year ago.
California reported the most mass layoff events in Q1 2012, followed by New York, Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania. Thirty-three states reported fewer mass layoff events than in Q1 2011, with California, Florida and Pennsylvania leading the pack.
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana area reported the largest number of initial claimants for unemployment benefits due to mass layoffs, among 372 metropolitan areas tracked by the BLS.
The national unemployment rate averaged 8.26 percent in Q1 2012, down from a 9.0 percent average in Q1 of the year before.
If you’re a recent victim of a layoff or a reduction in work hours, then you might be eligible for unemployment benefits 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.
President Obama signed a new law in Q1 that further extends unemployment benefit extensions through 2012. The law also extends the 2011 payroll (Social Security) tax cut through 2012.
For more details about Q1 2012 mass layoffs and related worker job losses (separations), read the “Mass Layoffs Summary” from the BLS. Coming next are monthly mass layoff numbers for April 2012, which the BLS intends to release on May 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.
