The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that about 134,000 workers lost their jobs in massive nationwide layoffs last month, up from the 128,103 employees who were let go in August 2002. A third of all mass layoffs and more than a third of the number of workers who lost jobs were in the manufacturing sector. A senior economist at the BLS, said that because many of the layoffs occurred in the temporary-help services, the numbers do not reflect "long-term layoffs." However, economists predict that many of the manufacturing job losses will be permanent.
See "134,000 Lost Jobs in August 'Mass Layoffs'", Kirstin Downey, The Washington Post, September 25, 2003