Manufacturing accounts for 22% of Q2 mass layoffs

In the second quarter of 2008, employers initiated 1,534 mass layoff events that resulted in the separation of 299,886 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both layoff events and separations reached their highest levels for the second quarter since 2003. The total number of layoff events was 113 higher in the second quarter of 2008 than the same period a year earlier, and the number of associated separations increased by 21,167. Second-quarter 2008 layoff data are preliminary and are subject to revision.

Mass layoff activity in professional and technical services and in finance and insurance reached second-quarter program highs in 2008. Layoffs in professional and technical services were due largely to seasonal job cuts in tax preparation services. Finance and insurance layoffs continued to be concentrated in credit intermediation and related activities, largely in the real estate credit industry.

Among the seven categories of economic reasons for layoff, seasonal reasons accounted for the highest share of events (38 percent) and number of separations (141,562) in April-June 2008. These seasonal layoffs were due, in part, to the end of the school year. The largest over-the-year increases in the number of separations occurred in layoff events attributed to business demand factors (+18,868) and organizational changes (+18,356). Within these two categories, layoffs because of slack work more than doubled over the year to 40,300 separations, and changes in business ownership more than quadrupled to 16,852.

Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 10 percent of all extended mass layoff events and affected 33,695 workers during the second quarter of 2008. Fifty-three percent of employers reporting a layoff indicated they anticipate some type of recall, down from 57 percent a year earlier and the lowest second quarter proportion since 2003.

The national unemployment rate averaged 5.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, in the second quarter of 2008, up from 4.4 percent a year earlier. Private non-farm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, decreased by 0.1 percent (-124,000) over the year.

Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs
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; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 20 percent of events and 17 percent of separations. Manufacturing had 334 extended layoff events in the second quarter of 2008, the highest second quarter total since 2003, and 56,212 separations. The largest numbers of separations were in transportation equipment manufacturing (16,073, mostly associated with heavy-duty truck manufacturing) and food manufacturing (10,569).

Professional and technical services accounted for 5 percent of events and 12 percent of separations in the second quarter of 2008, the highest proportion of separations recorded in the program. 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.

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http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mslo.htm