U.S. mass layoffs rose again in March to the highest level on records that date back to 1995, the Labor Department reported Thursday. March saw 2,933 more mass layoffs—defined as affecting 50 or more employees—than February. Mass layoffs now total 31,414 since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, resulting in the loss of more than 3.2 million jobs. The U.S. labor market has been severely strained as a crisis first revealed in the housing market spread to the financial sector and the broader economy, lowering corporate profits and consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of all U.S. economic activity.
