The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 22 WARN Act notices in May 1998, affecting an estimated 3,703 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to April and up 259% versus May 1997. Filings came from 2 states and territories, with an average of 168 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 13 | 2,450 |
| Florida | 9 | 1,253 |
Ohio led the nation with 2,450 workers affected across 13 notices , followed by Florida (1,253 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 5 | 1,595 |
| Manufacturing | 2 | 240 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 125 |
| Transportation | 1 | 116 |
| Mining & Energy | 1 | 67 |
The Utilities sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,595 workers across 5 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 240 workers.
Layoff type data was not available for filings this month.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Energy - Illuminating | Independence, Ohio | 986 | |
| Dania Jai-alai | Dania, Florida | 388 | |
| The Associates | Cincinnati, Ohio | 241 | |
| Kitchen of the Oceans | Deerfield Beach, Florida | 220 | |
| First Energy - Eastlake | Eastlake, Ohio | 207 | |
| International Paper | Hamilton, Ohio | 186 | |
| First Energy - Perry Nuclear | Perry, Ohio | 143 | |
| NAL Acceptance Corporation | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 138 | |
| Energizer Power System | Gainesville, Florida | 136 | |
| Liberty Intermediate Care Facility | Bristol, Florida | 125 |
The largest notice was filed by First Energy - Illuminating in Independence, Ohio, reporting 986 affected workers. Dania Jai-alai followed with 388 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Utilities sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in May 1998. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is sourced from official state filings and updated daily by WARN Firehose. Download the full dataset or explore state-by-state data.
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