Colorado had 22 extended mass layoffs — defined as the layoff of 50 or more people from one employer for at least 31 days — in the second quarter of 2012, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As a result, there were 3,181 initial claims for unemployment, said bureau economist Jacqueline Midkiff.
Midkiff said a majority of the extended mass layoffs were in the information sector, “amusements, gambling and recreation,” and accommodation and food services.
In the first quarter, there were eight extended mass layoffs in Colorado, resulting in 1,251 initial claims of unemployment. During last year’s second quarter, Colorado had 18 extended mass layoffs, resulting in 2,883 initial unemployment claims, Midkiff said.
Colorado’s unemployment rate, at 8.2 percent in June, has risen in recent months as people enter the workforce at a faster rate than new jobs are created.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday that nationally, employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 1,476 mass layoffs in the second quarter that resulted in the separation of 262,848 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days.
Mass layoffs for one day to 30 days also have been on the upswing in Colorado this year.
In January, there were five mass layoffs; February, six; March, nine; April, 12; May, 10; and June, 12.
