Charting second-quarter mass layoffs by industry
Manufacturing industries accounted for 22 percent of private non-farm extended layoff events and 19 percent of related separations in the second quarter of 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Manufacturing had 334 extended layoff events in the second quarter of 2008 and 56,212 separations.
Professional and technical services accounted for 5 percent of events and 12 percent of separations in the second quarter of 2008. These job cuts were due largely to seasonal layoffs in the tax preparation industry.
Layoffs in transportation and warehousing accounted for 10 percent of all events and 12 percent of separations and were concentrated in school and employee bus transportation.
This data is from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. "Extended mass layoffs" last more than 30 days and involve 50 or more individuals from a single establishment filing initial claims for unemployment insurance during a consecutive five-week period. Data for the second quarter of 2008 is preliminary and subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Extended Mass Layoffs in the Second Quarter of 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 08-1146.