US Layoffs — July 2011

The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 255 WARN Act notices in July 2011, affecting an estimated 20,140 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to June and down 12% versus July 2010. Filings came from 27 states and territories, with an average of 79 workers per notice.

Top States by Workers Affected

California led the nation with 4,229 workers affected across 68 notices , followed by Florida (2,627 workers) and Texas (1,988 workers) .

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 5,224 workers across 78 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 4,786 workers.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 12% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.

Largest Layoffs

The largest notice was filed by Olin in East Alton, Illinois, reporting 836 affected workers. CH2MHill Plateau Remediation followed with 750 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

The trends suggest a mixed picture for the nation's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.

This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in July 2011. 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, which also tracks SEC 8-K filings, bankruptcy proceedings, H-1B visa petitions, and unemployment claims across all six datasets. API access and data exports available.