The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers filed 84 WARN Act notices in February 2005, impacting roughly 12,538 workers — representing a notable rise over January and roughly flat versus February 2004. Filings came from 11 states and territories, with an average of 149 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | 23 | 3,316 |
| Georgia | 11 | 1,925 |
| Maryland | 6 | 1,670 |
| Texas | 12 | 1,113 |
| Florida | 5 | 973 |
| Ohio | 4 | 895 |
| Alabama | 4 | 743 |
| Michigan | 4 | 651 |
| Kansas | 6 | 427 |
| Washington | 3 | 416 |
| New Jersey | 6 | 409 |
Pennsylvania led the nation with 3,316 workers affected across 23 notices , followed by Georgia (1,925 workers) and Maryland (1,670 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Other | 6 | 1,670 |
| Manufacturing | 6 | 1,264 |
| Information & Technology | 11 | 686 |
| Transportation | 2 | 200 |
| Finance & Insurance | 2 | 191 |
| Construction | 1 | 174 |
| Admin & Support Services | 1 | 127 |
| Professional Services | 1 | 120 |
| Government | 1 | 75 |
| Retail | 1 | 60 |
The Other sector led the way in workforce reductions with 1,670 workers across 6 notices. In a parallel development, Manufacturing reported 1,264 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 17 | 3,992 |
| Layoff | 26 | 2,804 |
Closures accounted for 32% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Motors Corporation | Baltimore City, Maryland | 1,109 | Closure |
| US Airways | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 802 | Layoff |
| US Airways | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 761 | Closure |
| Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co | Cape Canaveral, Florida | 425 | |
| McBee | Athens, Ohio | 361 | |
| Nokia - Tarrant | Fort Worth, Texas | 354 | |
| At&t | Marietta, Georgia | 351 | |
| Buffalo Molded Plastics, Inc., Andover Industries | Andover, Ohio | 351 | |
| Springs Industries, Inc | Hartwell, Georgia | 308 | |
| Springs Industries, Inc | Griffin, Georgia | 300 |
The single largest action involved General Motors Corporation in Baltimore City, Maryland, reporting 1,109 affected workers. US Airways followed with 802 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Other sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in February 2005. 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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