BLS: Mass Layoffs Summary for August 2010

[mahatmakanejeeves]

BLS: Mass Layoffs Summary for August 2010

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, September 23, 2010

MASS LAYOFFS -- AUGUST 2010

Employers took 1,546 mass layoff actions in August that resulted in the separation
of 150,192 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment
insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported
today. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. The number
of mass layoff events in August decreased by 63 from the prior month, while the number
of associated initial claims increased by 6,489. In August, 403 mass layoff events
were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 46,540
initial claims. (See table 1.)

The national unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, essen-
tially unchanged from the prior month and from a year earlier. In August, total non-
farm payroll employment decreased by 54,000 over the month but increased by 229,000
from a year earlier.

[leveymg]

1. Only 229K jobs created 2009-2010. That is not a recovery . . .

that's a national disaster, particularly since 150K jobs must be created each month just to keep up with population increase. A quick calculation shows that in the last year, we're 1.6 million jobs down. :-(