.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;}
Iowa had 18 mass layoff actions in August, which led to 3,727 initial unemployment insurance claims. This is up from five mass layoffs in August 2007, which led to 526 workers filing for unemployment benefits.

Nationally, employers took 1,427 mass layoff actions on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, which led to 139,999 initial unemployment claims. This is up by 464 mass layoffs and 46,541 claims compared with a year ago. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer.

The Midwest had the third-highest claims total out of four regions, with 33,238 claims due to mass layoffs in August, compared with 45,837 claims in the West, which had the highest total. Among states bordering Iowa, Illinois had 55 mass layoffs, with 6,164 initial claims; Minnesota had five mass layoffs, with 334 claims; Missouri had 21 mass layoffs, with 1,490 claims; and Nebraska had three mass layoffs, leading to 271 claims.

Nationally, manufacturing accounted for 29 percent of all mass layoffs and 37 percent of initial unemployment claims filed in August. This helped boost the national unemployment rate to 6.1 percent (seasonally adjusted), from 4.7 percent a year earlier. Iowa’s unemployment rate rose to 4.6 percent from 3.8 percent a year ago.