Manufacturing Shoulders the Brunt of Mass-Layoffs

As soon as lay-offs become an “event”, it can’t be good.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its figures from this past month’s unemployment benefit claims due to mass lay-off events.

Although the numbers suggest that unemployment is down in most industries, the numbers of unemployed workers this past January remains staggering.

Compared to January 2010, this year workers in administrative and waste services, the government, and the arts faced more job losses. In other major industries, workers faced more unemployment last year.

In January, 11 of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year declines in initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits, with manufacturing having the largest decrease.

Workers in manufacturing have had to endure the largest numbers of mass layoffs. In January, the manufacturing sector accounted for 30 percent of initial claims filed. A year earlier, manufacturing made up 38 percent of initial claims filed.

The number of mass layoff events in January was 2,558 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 246,463. The number of mass layoff events was down by 302 from January 2010, and associated initial claims decreased by 32,216.