Chart: Mass layoff events and initial claims in January

Employers took 1,761 mass layoff actions in January that resulted in the separation of 182,261 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filing for unemployment insurance benefits during the month. This is according to a release from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Both mass layoff events and initial claims increased from the prior month after four consecutive over-the-month decreases.

During the 26 months from December 2007 through January 2010, the total number of mass layoff events (seasonally adjusted) was 53,739, and the associated number of initial claims was 5,425,101.

This data is from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. Each mass layoff action involved at least 50 people from a single employer. To learn more, see "Mass Layoffs—January 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-0229.