The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers submitted 247 WARN Act notices in January 2013, putting at risk an estimated 25,955 workers — up substantially from December and up 14% versus January 2012. Filings came from 29 states and territories, with an average of 105 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 82 | 4,775 |
| Texas | 17 | 4,087 |
| New Jersey | 7 | 2,623 |
| North Carolina | 13 | 2,119 |
| Kentucky | 14 | 1,752 |
| New York | 21 | 1,732 |
| Florida | 11 | 1,122 |
| Georgia | 8 | 1,013 |
| Mississippi | 6 | 813 |
| Washington | 6 | 740 |
| Virginia | 7 | 718 |
| Alabama | 5 | 646 |
| Tennessee | 8 | 489 |
| Oklahoma | 4 | 446 |
| Michigan | 3 | 405 |
| Oregon | 7 | 379 |
| Pennsylvania | 5 | 337 |
| Missouri | 1 | 290 |
| Indiana | 3 | 281 |
| Arizona | 2 | 239 |
| Ohio | 3 | 221 |
| Iowa | 1 | 216 |
| Rhode Island | 2 | 150 |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 148 |
| Kansas | 4 | 108 |
| Idaho | 2 | 98 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 4 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 2 |
| Maryland | 1 | 2 |
California led the nation with 4,775 workers affected across 82 notices , followed by Texas (4,087 workers) and New Jersey (2,623 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 7 | 2,163 |
| Transportation | 9 | 1,967 |
| Other | 16 | 1,703 |
| Finance & Insurance | 13 | 1,389 |
| Healthcare | 11 | 1,105 |
| Agriculture | 18 | 959 |
| Manufacturing | 14 | 925 |
| Construction | 1 | 421 |
| Retail | 5 | 336 |
| Mining & Energy | 4 | 290 |
The Accommodation & Food sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 2,163 workers across 7 notices. Separately, Transportation reported 1,967 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 64 | 7,061 |
| Layoff | 36 | 3,533 |
Closures accounted for 27% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation-Plainview | Plainview, Texas | 2,211 | |
| The Atlantaic Club Casino | Atlantic City, New Jersey | 1,729 | |
| Freightliner Truck Plant Cleveland LLC | Cleveland, North Carolina | 715 | Layoff |
| JPMorgan Chase - Mortgage Bank -Independent Foreclosure Review | Brooklyn, New York | 529 | Closure |
| Lockheed Martin Corp | Marietta, Georgia | 500 | |
| United Airlines | Newark, New Jersey | 472 | |
| Zacky Farms LLC | Fresno, California | 448 | |
| Signal International | Pascagoula, Mississippi | 421 | Layoff |
| Freightliner Truck Plant Mt. Holly LLC Daimler | Mt. Holly, North Carolina | 405 | Layoff |
| Visiting Nurse Association | Dallas, Texas | 400 |
Topping the list was Cargill Meat Solutions Corporation-Plainview in Plainview, Texas, reporting 2,211 affected workers. The Atlantaic Club Casino followed with 1,729 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Accommodation & Food sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in January 2013. 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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