In April, employers took 1,308 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer; the number of workers involved totaled 133,914, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The number of mass layoff events in April 2008 decreased by 263 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 23,242. In April, 483 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 60,552 initial claims.Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing remained essentially unchanged, but initial claims decreased by 3,536.

The national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, down from 5.1 percent in the prior month but up from 4.5 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 20,000 in April from the previous month but was 462,000 higher than a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in April, at 1,272 on a not seasonally adjusted basis, was up by 53 from a year earlier. The number of associated initial claims was 130,810, an increase of 3,366 over the year. The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment manufacturing (+6,114) and administrative and support services (+5,878). The largest decreases occurred in transit and ground passenger transportation (-11,550) and in motion picture and sound recording industries (-5,806).

The manufacturing sector accounted for 31 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of initial claims filed in April; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 25 percent of events and 28 percent of initial claims. In April 2008, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (17,617), followed by food manufacturing (7,085). Administrative and waste services accounted for 13 percent of both mass layoff events and initial claims in April, primarily from temporary help services.

The six-digit NAICS industry with the highest number of initial claims was temporary help services with 11,280, followed by school and employee bus transportation (6,258), and automobile manufacturing (5,082). Among the 10 industrieswith the highest levels of initial claims, scheduled passenger air transportation reached a program high for the month of April (with data available back to 1995).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in April due to mass layoffs was in the West (41,721). The Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims among the regions (37,169), followed by the South with 27,299 and the Northeast with 24,621.

The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in 2 of the 4 regions--the Midwest (+14,124) and the South (+1,088). Five of the 9 divisions had over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the East North Central (+10,612).

California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass lay- off events in April with 28,172, followed by Michigan (11,156), New York (7,539), and Pennsylvania (7,506). Twenty-eight states reported over-the- year increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by Michigan (+7,367), Texas (+2,477), and Indiana (+2,144). States with the largest over-the- year decreases in claims were New York (-7,715) and Pennsylvania (-3,491).