The Good And Bad News Of Manufacturing Layoffs

ByJohn S. McClenahen Last month, manufacturing accounted for 44% of all U.S. layoff actions that resulted in 50 or more employees being let go from a single place of business, data from the U.S. Labor Department show. A year ago, when the economy was still in recession, manufacturing accounted for 54% of such "mass" layoffs. Nevertheless, manufacturing workers accounted for more than 50% of all people being laid off in the month of July. Of the total of 245,457 workers affected, manufacturing workers accounted for 135,392. Workers who produced light trucks and sport utility vehicles, construction machinery, semiconductors and plastic products took the brunt of the manufacturing layoffs last month.