Mass layoffs dropped in March from February

WASHINGTON, April 23 (UPI) -- The number of mass layoffs in March -- layoffs involving 50 workers or more -- fell by 85 compared to February, the U.S. Labor Department said Tuesday.

Employers took 1,337 mass layoff actions in March, which affected 127,939 jobs as measured by new fillings for unemployment insurance benefits, the department said.

In the manufacturing sector, there were 311 mass layoffs events in the month, resulting in 36,696 initial benefit claims, the department said.

Monthly data on mass layoffs are reported without regard to duration.

The largest number of initial claims from mass layoffs in the month were in school and employee bus transportation jobs, resulting in 11,169 initial claims. Among food service contractors, 10,408 initial claims associated with mass layoffs were filed.

The unemployment rate in March slid from 7.7 percent to 7.6 percent with 88,000 private, non-far jobs added to the economy in the month.