Mass layoffs affect 200K U.S. workers in April

American employers took 1,856 mass layoff actions during April, leaving thousands of employees out of work, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, mass layoffs – those that affect at least 50 workers with a single employer – left 200,870 people without jobs last month, measured by new filings for unemployment benefits, according to a BLS news release.

The manufacturing sector accounted for 448, or 23 percent, of all mass layoff events and 28 percent of initial unemployment filings in April, the release said. The school and employee bus transportation sector had the highest number of initial claims for the month, with 19,007, and food service contractors and tax preparation services reached highs in the month, with 9,195 and 6,514 initial claims, respectively.

Since December 2007 – designated by the National Bureau of Economic Research as the start of a recession – the nation had experienced 58,793 mass layoffs, resulting in more than 5.9 million initial unemployment claims, the release said.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 9.9 percent for the month, up from 9.7 percent in March and 8.9 percent in April 2009.[[In-content Ad]]