business
Hospital mass layoffs decline
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted April 4, 2011
The number of mass layoffs at hospitals and the count of people affected went down in February, according to a monthly report issued March 22 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The bureau defines mass layoffs as at least 50 people losing their jobs at a single company.
Seven mass layoffs leading 383 people to claim unemployment benefits occurred at hospitals in February. The numbers were significantly higher in January, when 16 mass layoffs involving 1,133 employees occurred at hospitals.
The year 2010 was second only to 2009 in the past decade for hospital mass layoffs. A total of 137 occurred in 2010 and 152 in 2009. At least 10,490 people lost jobs as part of a mass layoff in 2010, and 11,787 did so in 2009.
The year 2005 set the decade's record for the highest number of people affected, mostly because of Hurricane Katrina. That year, 97 mass layoffs occurred, prompting 13,282 hospital employees to claim unemployment benefits.
The latest BLS Mass Layoffs report is available online (link).
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/04/04/bibf0404.htm.
