The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 164 WARN Act notices in January 2008, affecting an estimated 20,484 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and up 37% versus January 2007. Filings came from 19 states and territories, with an average of 125 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Ohio | 12 | 2,044 |
| Kansas | 9 | 1,963 |
| Florida | 18 | 1,914 |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | 1,695 |
| New Jersey | 12 | 1,649 |
| New York | 9 | 1,607 |
| Arizona | 12 | 1,547 |
| Kentucky | 14 | 1,396 |
| Oklahoma | 8 | 1,260 |
| Texas | 16 | 1,190 |
| Michigan | 9 | 1,067 |
| Missouri | 7 | 785 |
| Georgia | 11 | 778 |
| Maryland | 5 | 606 |
| Alabama | 3 | 363 |
| Washington | 5 | 309 |
| Iowa | 1 | 244 |
| South Dakota | 1 | 58 |
| Washington DC | 2 | 9 |
Ohio led the nation with 2,044 workers affected across 12 notices , followed by Kansas (1,963 workers) and Florida (1,914 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 21 | 2,677 |
| Other | 12 | 1,490 |
| Transportation | 6 | 1,322 |
| Finance & Insurance | 8 | 983 |
| Retail | 6 | 927 |
| Healthcare | 3 | 711 |
| Information & Technology | 9 | 638 |
| Admin & Support Services | 2 | 612 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 3 | 476 |
| Utilities | 2 | 209 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 2,677 workers across 21 notices. On a related front, Other reported 1,490 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 34 | 4,812 |
| Layoff | 29 | 2,629 |
Closures accounted for 23% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc | Emporia, Kansas | 1,550 | |
| Saint James Hospital | Newark, New Jersey | 541 | |
| American Airlines Customer Reservations Center | Cincinnati, Ohio | 477 | |
| Meijer (Stores #59 and #60) | Columbus, Ohio | 441 | |
| Altria Group, Inc. and Altria Client Services, Inc. formerly known as Altria Corporate Services, Inc | New York, New York | 440 | Closure |
| Universal Maritime Services Corp | Port Everglades, Florida | 430 | |
| Bartlett Collins | Sapulpa, Oklahoma | 425 | |
| Bartlett Collins | Sapulpa, Oklahoma | 425 | |
| SuperValu | Livonia, Michigan | 366 | Closure |
| Yorktowne Inc. - Plant #6 | Red Lion, Pennsylvania | 349 | Layoff |
The largest notice was filed by Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc in Emporia, Kansas, reporting 1,550 affected workers. Saint James Hospital followed with 541 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 Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in January 2008. 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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