The total number of mass layoff events in October was 1,642 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits was 148,638. The 351 mass layoff events in the manufacturing sector accounted for 21 percent of all mass layoff events, and the 40,861 initial claims accounted for 27 percent of initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits filed in October.
Government registered over-the-year increases in mass layoff events and initial claims. Year-to-date initial claim totals through October for government are the highest on record (with data available back to 1996), due in part to layoffs in educational services and the completion of work on the decennial census.
Fourteen of the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy reported over-the-year decreases in initial claims, led by manufacturing. Manufacturing reached an October program low in terms of average weekly claims. Within manufacturing, the number of claimants in October was greatest in food and transportation equipment. Fifteen of the 21 manufacturing subsectors experienced over-the-year decreases in initial claims, with the largest declines in transportation equipment and in machinery.
This data is from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. See "Mass Layoffs — October 2010" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-10-1627, to learn more. Each mass layoff action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.
