Mass layoffs reported in April: What does it mean for recovery?

The April release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Mass Layoff Report indicated a notable jump in large-scale layoffs with 1856 mass layoff events resulting in 200,870 initial unemployment claimants on a seasonally adjusted basis.

On a seasonally unadjusted basis, the mass layoff events totaled 1840 with 199,690 initial claimants.
It's important to note that this increase in layoffs is contributing to a flattening of the series that is consistent with a similar flattening currently shaping up for the weekly unemployment claims series.
It could be that we are now seeing the initial signs of a job market that is settling into a long trend of elevated unemployment and general weakness.
The BLS considers a mass layoff event to be a condition where there are at least fifty initial claims for unemployment insurance originating from a single employer over a period of five consecutive weeks.

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