Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Two-thirds of workers displaced from 2015 to 2017 were reemployed in January 2018

September 14, 2018

From January 2015 through December 2017, there were 3.0 million workers displaced from jobs they had held for at least 3 years. In January 2018, 66 percent of these long-tenured displaced workers were reemployed, about the same as in January 2016. Fourteen percent of displaced workers in January 2018 were unemployed (that is, actively seeking work), and 19 percent were not in the labor force. The reemployment rate in January 2018 was highest for workers displaced from jobs in health care and social assistance.

Long-tenured displaced workers by industry of lost job and employment status in January 2018
Industry and class of worker of lost job Employed Unemployed Not in the labor force

Total, 20 years and older

66.4% 14.4% 19.3%

Health care and social assistance

81.2 6.7 12.1

Other services

76.0 10.9 13.1

Financial activities

68.1 15.9 16.0

Retail trade

67.9 10.2 21.9

Durable goods manufacturing

67.5 8.6 23.9

Educational services

67.5 19.1 13.4

Wholesale trade

67.4 11.7 20.9

Professional and business services

67.3 15.9 16.8

Government

66.7 9.9 23.4

Leisure and hospitality

65.9 10.3 23.8

Transportation and utilities

64.7 18.4 16.8

Construction

60.9 15.5 23.6

Nondurable goods manufacturing

59.3 23.3 17.4

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction

54.1 13.4 32.5

Information

47.3 38.9 13.8

For most major industry groups, reemployment rates in January 2018 were not statistically different from January 2016. The reemployment rate for workers displaced from the information industry, however, declined from January 2016, making them the least likely to be reemployed in January 2018 (47 percent). Reemployed workers did not necessarily work in the same industries as the one from which they were displaced.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see “Worker Displacement: 2015–17.” Displaced workers are wage and salary workers age 20 years or older who lost or left jobs because their plant or company closed or moved, there was insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift was abolished.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Two-thirds of workers displaced from 2015 to 2017 were reemployed in January 2018 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/two-thirds-of-workers-displaced-from-2015-to-2017-were-reemployed-in-january-2018.htm (visited March 28, 2024).

OF INTEREST
spotlight
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics


triangle