|
 Bureau
of Labor Statistics Reports Mass Layoffs in August 2006
In August 2006, employers took 1,193 mass layoff actions, seasonally
adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance
benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor has reported.
Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment,
and the number of workers involved totaled 127,944, on a seasonally
adjusted basis. The number of layoff events increased by 68, and
the number of associated initial claims rose by 13,049 from July
2006. In the manufacturing sector, 357 mass layoff events were reported
during August 2006, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 59,256 initial
claims. The number of events in manufacturing was lower than a month
earlier, while the number of initial claims increased. (See table
1.)
In August 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 percent,
season- ally adjusted, essentially unchanged from July 2006 and
down from 4.9 per- cent in August 2005. Total nonfarm payroll employment,
seasonally adjust- ed, increased by 128,000 over the month and by
about 1.7 million over the year.
Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)
The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff
events and 39 percent of all initial claims filed in August. A year
earlier, manufacturing comprised 29 percent of events and 33 percent
of ini- tial claims. In August 2006, the number of manufacturing
claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing
(12,428, mostly automo- tive-related), followed by wood product
manufacturing (2,240) and machinery manufacturing (2,210).
Table A. Industries with the largest mass layoff initial claims
in August 2006
|
Industry
|
Initial claims
|
August Peak
|
|
Year
|
Initial claims
|
| Temporary help
services |
7,109
|
1999
|
11,533
|
| Heavy duty truck
manufacturing |
4,896
|
2006
|
4,896
|
| School and employee
bus transportation |
4,268
|
2003
|
6,538
|
| Motion picture
and video production |
3,327
|
2003
|
6,812
|
| Professional employer
organizations |
2,155
|
2002
|
2,855
|
| Department stores,
except discount |
1,330
|
1996
|
2,151
|
| Discount department stores |
981
|
2002
|
2,271
|
| Supermarkets and
other grocery stores |
944
|
2001
|
2,357
|
| Motor home manufacturing |
848
|
2006
|
848
|
| Farm machinery
and equipment manufacturing |
831
|
2003
|
1,661
|
Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of events and
3 percent of initial claims filed in August, mostly from executive,
legislative, and general government and educational services.
On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events
in August 2006, at 708, was up by 63 from a year earlier, and the
number of associated initial claims increased by 5,262 to 72,844.
The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported
in transportation equipment manufacturing (+5,573) and administrative
and support services (+4,150). The largest over-the-year decreases
in initial claims were reported in motion picture and sound recording
industries (-2,959) and food manufacturing (-1,203).
From January through August 2006, the total number of events, at
8,605, and the total number of initial claims, at 907,199, were
lower than any January-August period in program history. The availability
of annual mass layoff data begins in 1996.
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