MO mass layoffs total 41 in January

Missouri employers took 41 mass layoff actions in January, nearly consistent with the count of 42 in the same month of 2012, according to nonseasonally data adjusted from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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

Among the 12 states in the BLS' Midwest region, Ohio topped the list, with 62 mass layoffs in January, while South Dakota had zero. Layoffs in the Midwest totaled 339, down from 386 in January 2012, according to a news release.

Missouri initial claimants for unemployment insurance registered at 4,037 in January, up from 2,860 a year before. In the Midwest, that figure was 31,994 last month, up from 31,060.

The number of mass layoffs in the U.S. was 1,528, not seasonally adjusted, in January, according to the BLS.