Mass layoffs in Ohio decrease

Staff report

COLUMBUS

Employers in Ohio decreased their number of mass layoffs for the first time since 2006, according to statistics released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Market Information.

Extended mass layoffs in Ohio increased during the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with 2009 but decreased overall for the year for the first time in four years.

There were 105 mass layoffs in the final three months of 2010, up from 96 in 2009. Overall, there were 318 layoffs affecting 51,466 workers in 2010, down from 562 that had an impact on 114,879 employees in 2009, a 43-percent drop.

An extended mass layoff occurs when at least 50 unemployment claims are filed against an employer within a five-week period. The employer must verify the layoffs lasted more than 30 days.

In the Valley, Trumbull County was the most affected by EMLs in 2010. There were four instances that affected 370 employees.

Mahoning County had fewer than three (and due to confidentiality were not reportable). Columbiana County did not have an EML in 2010.

So far in 2011, there has been one EML in Mahoning County. Senior Business Operations of WellPoint, Inc. in Youngstown notified the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in February that it would lay off 51 employees in two waves beginning this month.