Cold Weather Accounts for Mass Layoffs

When winter blew in this year, snow wasn’t the only thing that fell.  The country’s employment figures suffered from the mass layoffs in the fourth quarter of 2010.  Employers informed nearly 300,000 workers that they were out of work.

Hopefully, many of these jobs will be revitalized in the near future, as many of these layoffs are attributed to the weather.  Construction firms recorded 673 events and 84,205 separations, primarily due to the ending of seasonal work.

Manufacturing firms reported 362 events involving the separation of 60,832 workers, largely due to the ending of seasonal work.  This sector accounted for 19 percent of private nonfarm extended layoff events and 21 percent of related separations in the quarter, the lowest fourth quarter proportions in program history.

Not too many of the workers lost their jobs due the fact that their places of work ceased to exist.  Permanent worksite closures accounted for 6 percent of extended mass layoff events in the fourth quarter 2010, the lowest proportion in program history (with data available back to 1995). Sixty percent of employers expected to recall at least some laid-off workers, the highest fourth quarter percentage since 2005 and up from 48 percent a year earlier.

When the Bureau of Labor Statistics announces the data from the next quarter, hopefully the employers’ optimism will be come to fruition.