Manufacturing Layoffs: What A Difference A Year Makes

ByJohn S. McClenahen Manufacturing accounted for 22% of the 1,557 mass layoffs that occurred in June of this year -- and some 26% of the 159,352 workers filing initial claims for unemployment, reports the U.S. Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, in June 2001 manufacturing accounted for 35% of the 2,107 mass layoffs and 46% of the 253,826 initial claims. The largest number of layoffs this past June were in food processing, transportation equipment, electrical equipment and appliances, and machinery. The Labor Department defines a mass layoff as the dismissal of at least 50 persons from a single establishment.