Layoff Data for July 2006

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released data Wednesday indicating that in July employers initiated 1,125 mass layoffs nationwide.

Each layoff involved at least 50 employees from a single establishment, and data were derived from new filings for unemployment insurance.

In total, the unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) was 4.8 percent, up .2 percent from June and down .2 percent from July of last year.

The two industries with the highest number of claims were automobile manufacturing with 16,796 and temporary help services with 11,057. Together these industries accounted for 17 percent of claims filed in July. The manufacturing sector accounted for 43 percent of all mass layoffs and 58 percent of claims in July. Claims were highest in transportation equipment followed by plastics and rubber manufacturing.

--Denver Business Journal