Global| Jun 22 2011U.S. Mass Layoffs Pick Up Somewhat
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
In a reversal of the recent trend, mass layoffs in the U.S. rose during May and April. The Labor Department reported this morning that layoffs last month of 50 or more persons from a single firm rose 2.2% in May from April after that [...]
In a reversal of the recent trend, mass layoffs in the U.S. rose during May and April. The Labor Department reported this morning that layoffs last month of 50 or more persons from a single firm rose 2.2% in May from April after that month's 21.6% increase. The seasonally adjusted level of 1,599 was the highest since last October.
The monthly upturn was in manufacturing, led by textiles, finance, health care and government. Elsewhere declines in layoffs continued including retail trade, information, arts & entertainment. A mass layoff involves at least 50 initial claimants from a single establishment filing during a consecutive 5-week period. The BLS data are available in Haver's USECON database. Underlying state and area detail are available in the REGIONAL database.
| Mass Layoffs | May | Apr | Mar | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total (SA) | 1,599 | 1,564 | 1,286 | 19,350 | 28,236 | 21,689 |
| Total (Y/Y) | -4.0% | -6.6% | -21.3 | -31.5% | 30.2% | 42.1% |
| Private Nonfarm | 0.0 | -6.5 | -21.4 | -34.6 | 29.8 | 43.5 |
| Construction | -13.8 | -1.2 | -15.4 | -20.2 | 18.4 | 22.6 |
| Manufacturing | 25.0 | -6.4 | -30.0 | -53.0 | 40.1 | 48.0 |
| Retail Trade | -10.7 | -5.8 | -28.2 | -19.9 | 34.9 | 39.0 |
| Information | -12.2 | -16.0 | -30.8 | -27.1 | 38.0 | 42.3 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4.3 | -34.4 | -55.8 | -36.5 | 22.6 | 8.2 |
| Health Care & Social Assistance | 21.4 | -20.7 | 0.0 | 5.0 | 16.4 | 28.9 |
| Arts, Entertainment and Recreation | -25.0 | -21.1 | -35.0 | -6.7 | 25.1 | 29.6 |
| Government | -21.0 | -17.7 | -29.2 | 5.3 | 58.2 | 29.3 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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