MO employers initiate seven mass layoffs in February

Missouri employers initiated seven mass layoffs during February, 10 less than the same month of the prior year, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The BLS defines a mass layoff as involving more than 50 workers from a single employer.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance also were down year-to-year, with 449 last month compared to 1,038 in February 2011, according to a news release.

Missouri was toward the low end of the scale for mass layoff events during the month, and the Midwest region recorded the lowest number of mass layoffs, with 152. Employers in the Northeast region conducted the most mass layoffs in February, with 895, followed by the West, with 298, and the South, with 242. All regions reported less mass layoffs than same month of the prior year.

With 13,591, the Midwest region also had the lowest number of initial claims in February, with the highest reported in the West, 22,605. Like with mass layoffs, initial claims were down during the month in all regions compared to the previous year, the release said.

Nationwide during February, there were 895 mass layoffs, down from 1,024 the previous year. The total number of initial claims decreased to 73,974 from 85,585.