business
Hospital mass layoffs decline
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted May 30, 2011
Fewer mass layoffs occurred at hospitals in April than in the same month in 2010.
There were nine mass layoffs at hospitals in April, leading to 602 people claiming unemployment benefits, according to the monthly mass layoffs report issued May 20 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Eighteen occurred in April 2010, with at least 1,967 employees losing jobs.
Mass layoffs are defined as at least 50 jobs cut from a single company.
Numbers also improved for ambulatory care centers, which includes physician offices. Seven mass layoffs occurred in April, with 496 people losing jobs. There were nine mass layoffs in April 2010, with 637 jobs lost.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2011/05/30/bibf0530.htm.