The disappearance of 'Mass Layoff' data compiling

When people think upon the effects of the current sequestration (assuming anyone thinks upon this at all), its usually either in important terms (cuts in benefits and social services) or the inconsequential (cutting of White house tours)

And when something is genuinely vital to the masses, such as the ability to fly without massive delays or the need for food inspectors, the bureaucracy always finds a means to spare them the budget cuts that impact other areas of government function.

See-- when enough people bitch and moan and gripe on something, the 'squeaky wheel' gets is grease and government acts quickly.

Shame those same people haven't learned to apply this technique to continual job loss, wage declines, ending the Fed, etc..

Anyways, one area that is affect by these mandatory cuts is the Bureau of Labor Statistics..  They're the ones that compile the monthly data that declares unemployment rates, number of people out of work or out of the work force, etc..  

Their statistical analysis and distortions allow Wall St to continue to rise for no real rhyme and reason and give other knuckleheads continual false hope of recovery.

They were short staffed as it was..

From the BLS.gov site:

"On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the-board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013."

So what gets cut?

"In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics..."

So what do 'Mass Layoff Statistics' mean and why important?

"Mass layoff" is defined by the United States Department of Labor as 50 or more workers laid off from the same company around the same time.  

So when the BLS reports that "employers in the private nonfarm sector initiated 914 mass layoff events in the first quarter of 2013", that means 50 or more people were fired from their place of work on 914 separate occasions across the US affecting over 154,000 people who had jobs when 2012 closed.

During the 4Q of 2012, there were 2,123 mass layoffs affecting over 424,000 people.   This means from Oct 1, 2012 until Mar 31, 2013, over 560,000 people were forced to apply for and ultimately depend on unemployment checks for daily survival.

And now due to the sequestration, we will no longer know with any statistical certainty how many mass layoffs will be occurring in the near and distant future.

One less piece of negative news that government and Wall St have to spin.