The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 273 WARN Act notices in July 2014, affecting an estimated 34,943 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to June and up 73% versus July 2013. Filings came from 31 states and territories, with an average of 128 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 92 | 11,107 |
| New Jersey | 12 | 4,123 |
| New York | 21 | 1,777 |
| Pennsylvania | 15 | 1,723 |
| Virginia | 14 | 1,648 |
| Washington | 2 | 1,446 |
| Ohio | 8 | 1,219 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 1,210 |
| Florida | 12 | 1,195 |
| Texas | 12 | 1,191 |
| Idaho | 4 | 1,190 |
| Georgia | 11 | 1,037 |
| Indiana | 3 | 984 |
| Tennessee | 12 | 693 |
| Utah | 2 | 558 |
| Mississippi | 7 | 551 |
| North Carolina | 4 | 511 |
| Iowa | 5 | 501 |
| South Carolina | 2 | 382 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 333 |
| Michigan | 4 | 316 |
| Rhode Island | 3 | 262 |
| Alabama | 1 | 204 |
| Maryland | 3 | 198 |
| Louisiana | 4 | 196 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 124 |
| Arizona | 2 | 79 |
| Missouri | 1 | 67 |
| Kansas | 2 | 66 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 47 |
| Oregon | 1 | 5 |
California led the nation with 11,107 workers affected across 92 notices , followed by New Jersey (4,123 workers) and New York (1,777 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 11 | 2,848 |
| Other | 16 | 2,354 |
| Healthcare | 15 | 2,102 |
| Agriculture | 5 | 1,233 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 4 | 891 |
| Manufacturing | 13 | 792 |
| Transportation | 8 | 717 |
| Retail | 6 | 669 |
| Information & Technology | 6 | 497 |
| Finance & Insurance | 7 | 441 |
The Accommodation & Food sector saw the heaviest impact with 2,848 workers across 11 notices. On a related front, Other reported 2,354 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 110 | 13,141 |
| Closure | 67 | 7,854 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 544 |
Closures accounted for 24% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tatitlek Corporation | Twentynine Palms, California | 2,562 | Layoff |
| Showboat Casino | Atlantic City, New Jersey | 2,139 | |
| Microsoft | Redmond, Washington | 1,351 | Layoff |
| Trump Plaza Associates, LLC | Atlantic City, New Jersey | 1,153 | |
| Merck & Co., Inc | North Wales, Landsdale, Pennsylvania | 600 | |
| Sierra-Cascade Nursery, Inc./Ballico | Ballico, California | 544 | Temporary Closure |
| Sierra-Cascade Nursery, Inc./Ballico | Ballico, California | 544 | Closure |
| Elks Rehab System | Boise, Idaho | 516 | |
| Elks Rehab System | Boise, Idaho | 516 | |
| Fluor B&W Portsmouth LLC | Piketon, Ohio | 505 |
The largest notice was filed by Tatitlek Corporation in Twentynine Palms, California, reporting 2,562 affected workers. Showboat Casino followed with 2,139 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 Accommodation & Food sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in July 2014. 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.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
