The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 270 WARN Act notices in March 2012, affecting an estimated 25,522 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 24% versus March 2011. Filings came from 26 states and territories, with an average of 95 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 67 | 4,212 |
| Missouri | 9 | 2,429 |
| Texas | 14 | 2,198 |
| Pennsylvania | 17 | 2,039 |
| New York | 33 | 2,013 |
| North Carolina | 8 | 1,757 |
| Georgia | 12 | 1,133 |
| Florida | 7 | 1,128 |
| Virginia | 7 | 975 |
| Kansas | 15 | 932 |
| Tennessee | 12 | 891 |
| Ohio | 9 | 826 |
| Oregon | 3 | 764 |
| Kentucky | 4 | 676 |
| Michigan | 4 | 598 |
| Iowa | 5 | 416 |
| New Jersey | 5 | 398 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 350 |
| Indiana | 4 | 345 |
| Mississippi | 4 | 310 |
| Arizona | 5 | 288 |
| Maryland | 3 | 287 |
| Alabama | 2 | 239 |
| South Carolina | 16 | 214 |
| Louisiana | 2 | 65 |
| Washington | 1 | 39 |
California led the nation with 4,212 workers affected across 67 notices , followed by Missouri (2,429 workers) and Texas (2,198 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Information & Technology | 10 | 1,999 |
| Finance & Insurance | 11 | 1,405 |
| Manufacturing | 18 | 1,332 |
| Healthcare | 16 | 1,241 |
| Accommodation & Food | 7 | 1,079 |
| Other | 18 | 945 |
| Retail | 4 | 604 |
| Transportation | 6 | 560 |
| Admin & Support Services | 2 | 299 |
| Utilities | 8 | 219 |
The Information & Technology sector saw the heaviest impact with 1,999 workers across 10 notices. On a related front, Finance & Insurance reported 1,405 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 61 | 7,157 |
| Layoff | 56 | 4,528 |
Closures accounted for 28% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford | Claycomo, Missouri | 1,222 | Layoff |
| NCO Customer Management, Inc | North Carolina | 685 | Closure |
| T Mobile USA, Inc | Allentown, Pennsylvania | 605 | |
| Verizon Wireless | Southfield, Michigan | 499 | Closure |
| T-Mobile USA, Inc | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | 492 | |
| Saxon Mortgage (Ft.Worth) | Ft. Worth, Texas | 454 | |
| Acuity Brands Lighting | Cochran, Georgia | 450 | |
| MVM, Inc | St. Louis, Missouri | 449 | Closure |
| Garden City Casino | San Jose, California | 418 | |
| T-Mobile | Lenexa, Kansas | 400 |
The largest notice was filed by Ford in Claycomo, Missouri, reporting 1,222 affected workers. NCO Customer Management, Inc followed with 685 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 Information & Technology sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in March 2012. 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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