"Mass layoffs" in U.S. up 3 percent

(CBS News) 

The jobless numbers that came out Friday were hardly encouraging. The government said the unemployment rate in August was stuck at 9.1 percent, with as many jobs lost as created.

Here's some more bad news: The number in a category the government calls "mass layoffs" has jumped by 3 percent. Mass layoffs are when employers let go of 50 or more people at one time.

CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy reports that when when Borders closed all of its book stores this summer, more than 10,000 people suddenly found themselves out of a job.

"We kinda all just walked around in a daze. We didn't know what to do," says former Borders employee Stacy Murray.

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Stacy used to supervise the inventory at a Borders in San Diego. When the store shut down, so did her family's finances. Stacy is married, with two young sons -- including 10 year-old Jacob. Money has always been tight. And without her income, her husband's paycheck isn't enough to pay all the bills.

"Now we're dipping into savings to put food on the table, pay rent on our apartment," Stacy says.

It's been a summer storm of pink slips. Along with Borders, Bank of America, Cisco, Lockheed Martin, and Goldman Sachs have all recently announced mass layoffs. In fact, the latest numbers show mass layoffs have jumped three percent this summer - with 145,000 people losing their jobs.

However, in the past 3 years, the number of mass layoffs has actually declined. That's good news, but economists say the numbers just aren't falling fast enough.

"They really need to be coming down much more rapidly to make a real dent in unemployment," says Jerry Nickelsburg, senior economist with UCLA Anderson Forecast.

The numbers didn't fall fast enough for Robert Ahlstrom. He spent four years working for the software company Novell - one of Provo Utah's most prominent businesses. Novell laid off more than 800 people in May, sending shockwaves through the city.

"My boss, he called me into the office and told me: 'You're one of the people that's gonna be laid off,'" Robert says.

Robert says he's lucky - he's getting severance pay. Now he spends his days looking for work -- and working on his baseball swing.

At just 7.5 percent, Utah's unemployment rate is lower than the national average, so Robert is confident he'll find a new job.

"I think things are gonna turn around. I'm optimistic things are gonna get better," Robert says.

But back in San Diego, where California's unemployment rate is second-highest in the nation at a whopping 12 percent, Stacy's search for a new job is much harder.

"How can the economy support all those people looking for jobs? It makes me feel like I have a lot more competition," Stacy says.

It's a competition she can't afford to lose.

[honestabe11]

united parcel service just layed me off 17 years on the job here in phoenix still can work but feel bad that im layed off not a good feeling

[OnlineJobopportunity]

Do you Want Extra cash through online Part Time Job? Sure .You will get it . Log On: http://www.onlinefreearnmoney.blogspot.com

[FP1970]

Barack Obama is so concerned about this that he's trying to institute "administrative amnesty" to make sure that most illegal immigrants can stay in the U.S and provide still more competition for American workers.

[rwsmith29456]

We need to be able to manufacture goods or provide business service that the US people and other want and create new business in which the US can compete.

[fervan-2009]

Obama's only job before being president was a community organizer and he FAILED at that! So now we wonder why this country is going down? HAHAHAHA. NOONE QUALFIED TO RUN IT!

[ToolMangler1]

I guess being a US Senator does not count to you...
What have 'you' done for the country???

[elenin_sept26]

That spend your way to prosperity thing you liberals have is working like a gang busters. I sure how Barry has more spending in store for us.

Cloward and Piven all the way!

[jackp32]

I'll bet that Robert spends more time working on his baseball swing than he does job hunting. With all that free money, including 99 wks of unemployment comp., why strain himself pounding the pavement.

[Danize]

Well, if he becomes frantic and miserable as you seem to suggest, will that raise his chances of landing a job?

[-LiftingSkirts-]

by enriquieGonzales September 4, 2011 7:47 AM EDT
""...Thats right are President is looking after illegals first. I am sure raiding the Gibson Guitar Manufacture will help with American Jobs.""
______________

Yea... that's a weird one. Like Gibson is more likely to use endangered species to make instruments? Not likely. There is more regulation in the US regarding woods than anywhere else.

Strange to raid one of the last few US manufacturing co's.

I don't get it. Even IF Gibson was using endangered products, harvested over seas, like other global instrument manufacturers, they should NOT be raided by the US gov't.

[either1or]

More taxpayer money being wasted since more taxpayers are losing their jobs. Yet more benefits for the illegals.

[X2670]

It's becoming where the "Quote" Job Creators/Rich are not going to need a middle class worker to get what they need done. Outsourcing overseas and imported workers from overseas (or Mexico) will take the place of what used to be good stable well paying middle class jobs. The old saying goes "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer" could not be more true than now.