business
Hospital mass layoffs for 2012 expected to match 2011’s numbers
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Nov. 5, 2012
Thirteen mass layoffs occurred in hospitals in September, affecting 817 people, according to a monthly report released Oct. 23 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If numbers hold steady for the remainder of 2012, the industry is on track to have a similar annual count of mass layoffs as it did in 2011.
Ninety-three layoff incidents occurred in the first nine months of 2012, leading 6,529 people to claim unemployment benefits. At this rate, the year would end with about 124 mass layoff incidents with roughly 8,700 people affected. This is comparable to the totals for 2011, which had 121 mass layoffs with 8,098 people losing their jobs.
The BLS does not break numbers down by occupation, but people who hire health workers say administrative rather than clinical staff tend to be most at risk of losing their jobs during mass layoffs.A mass layoff is defined as a minimum of 50 people losing their jobs from one company at the same time. Smaller incidents are not counted.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/11/05/bibf1105.htm.
