LITTLE ROCK — Mass layoffs hit an all-time high in Arkansas in 2011, according to a recent report.
Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman with the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted that the number of claims reached a series high in 2011, more than doubling the 2010 level of 7,748.
The manufacturing sector took the largest hit, with 94 mass layoffs.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported recently that in all, the state's businesses recorded 154 mass layoffs. Those layoffs amounted to 16,665 jobs, according to the report, which is also a record high.
A mass layoff is defined as one involving at least 50 workers from a single employer.
The Mass Layoff Statistics (MLS) program is a federal-state program that uses a standardized automated
approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks, using data from each
state's unemployment insurance database.