In August, employers took 1,772 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 173,955, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Layoff events reached a program high for the month of August (with data available back to 1995), and associated initial claimants reached its highest level for the month since 2001. The number of mass layoff events this August increased by 260 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims rose by 22,784. In August, 599 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 72,244 initial claims. Over the month, mass layoff events in manufacturing increased by 156, and initial claims increased by 14,774.

From January through August 2008, the total number of mass layoffevents (seasonally adjusted), at 12,542, and initial claims (seasonally adjusted), at 1,274,765, were the highest for the January-August period since 2003.

The national unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in August, seasonally adjusted, up from 5.7 percent in the prior month and from 4.7 percent a year earlier. In August, total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 84,000 over the month and by 283,000 from a year earlier.

Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

The number of mass layoff events in August was 1,427 on a not seasonally adjusted basis; the number of associated initial claims was 139,999. Over the year, increases were recorded in both the number of layoff events (+464) and initial claims (+46,541). The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims occurred in transportation equipment manufacturing (+14,191) and in administrative and waste services (+4,524). The largest decrease in initial claims occurred in credit intermediation and related activities (-6,363).

The manufacturing sector accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoff events and 37 percent of initial claims filed in August; a year earlier, manufacturing made up 23 percent of events and 25 percent of initial claims. In August 2008, the number of manufacturing claimants was great-est in transportation equipment manufacturing (19,787), followed by machinery manufacturing (4,887). Administrative and waste services accounted for 15 percent of mass layoff events and 14 percent of associated initial claims, primarily from temporary help services.

The six-digit NAICS industry with the largest number of initial claims was temporary help services (10,585), followed by school and employee bus transportation (6,455). Among the 10 industries with the highest levels of initial claims, 4 of the 10 - professional employer organizations, motor home manufacturing, full-service restaurants, and all other motor vehicle parts manufacturing - reached program highs in 2008 for the month of August (with data available back to 1995).

Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Of the 4 census regions, the West had the highest number of initial claims in August due to mass layoffs (45,837). The South had the secondlargest count of initial claims among the regions (38,188), followed by the Midwest with 33,238 and the Northeast with 22,736.

Initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in all 4 regions - the South (+16,736), the Midwest (+14,919), the West (+8,546), and the Northeast (+6,340). All 9 divisions experienced over-the-year increases in initial claims, led by the East North Central (+11,105) and the South Atlantic (+9,681).

California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in August with 36,120, largely due to layoffs in administrative and support services and in motion picture and sound recording industries. The states with the next highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims were New York (10,760), Florida (9,849), and Ohio (7,994).

Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia registered over-the-year increases in initial claims associated with mass layoffs, led by California (+5,054), Ohio (+4,930), and Florida (+4,674). States with the largest over-the-year decreases in claims were Arizona (-704) and Washington (-461).