Investing January 3, 2003

Mass Layoffs Report Out of Work – Again

January 3, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Bush administration has slashed the government's monthly mass layoffs report, citing cost concerns.

Reported by

Fred Schneyer

Officials started keeping the statistics in 1984, but the effort was dropped for lack of funding during the last recession in 1992 when the first President Bush was in office. The report was eventually revived under President Clinton three years later. This time, officials once again cited funding problems in cutting the program, according to the Associated Press.

The report by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics recorded layoffs of 50 or more workers from a single employer regardless of the layoffs’ duration.

The final release was issued on Christmas Eve with November’s figures showing that US companies laid off more than 240,000 workers in 2,150 mass layoffs.