This trend has continued into 2009, with a 10-year high of 1,993 ASC employees filing initial unemployment claims after mass layoffs in Jan. 2009. The total number of healthcare employees affected by mass layoffs for January was 4,279.
Establishments that have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance filed against them in a 5-week period are reported in the month mass layoff report, according to the BLS.
