Second-quarter layoffs mirror 2006

Kansas experienced 13 mass layoffs during the second quarter of 2007, up from just three during the first three months of the year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

But the second-quarter total was identical to the 13 mass layoffs the state experienced during the second quarter of 2006.

All told, 1,931 people were part of mass job cuts from April through June, up from 925 during the first quarter.

BLS defines a mass layoff as involving 50 or more people who are laid off for at least 31 days.
Nationally during the second quarter, there were 1,249 mass layoffs that left 238,721 workers unemployed. Those figures were lower than the April-through-June figures from 2006.

Seasonal factors resulted in 44 percent of the layoff events nationally during the second quarter. Business demand resulted in another 31 percent. Other factors were work site closures and movement of work within a company or between companies.