The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers logged 469 WARN Act notices in January 2015, involving roughly 41,345 workers — climbing above December and up 68% versus January 2014. Filings came from 34 states and territories, with an average of 88 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 108 | 8,879 |
| Alabama | 13 | 5,262 |
| New York | 44 | 3,440 |
| Texas | 18 | 2,786 |
| Colorado | 21 | 1,800 |
| Indiana | 16 | 1,743 |
| New Jersey | 10 | 1,741 |
| Kentucky | 39 | 1,532 |
| Pennsylvania | 10 | 1,432 |
| Ohio | 12 | 1,267 |
| Washington | 9 | 1,032 |
| Kansas | 8 | 992 |
| North Carolina | 8 | 963 |
| Iowa | 4 | 873 |
| Georgia | 10 | 821 |
| Virginia | 12 | 791 |
| Tennessee | 18 | 703 |
| South Carolina | 6 | 672 |
| Oklahoma | 16 | 588 |
| Utah | 8 | 578 |
| Florida | 14 | 560 |
| Missouri | 9 | 555 |
| Oregon | 6 | 506 |
| Michigan | 4 | 379 |
| Mississippi | 4 | 302 |
| Maryland | 6 | 232 |
| Washington DC | 2 | 192 |
| Idaho | 3 | 183 |
| Vermont | 7 | 155 |
| Montana | 2 | 130 |
| Connecticut | 4 | 128 |
| Louisiana | 2 | 111 |
| Nebraska | 4 | 17 |
| Illinois | 12 | 0 |
California led the nation with 8,879 workers affected across 108 notices , followed by Alabama (5,262 workers) and New York (3,440 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 34 | 9,163 |
| Other | 41 | 3,392 |
| Transportation | 13 | 1,881 |
| Finance & Insurance | 22 | 1,691 |
| Retail | 20 | 1,585 |
| Information & Technology | 14 | 1,386 |
| Mining & Energy | 10 | 1,081 |
| Healthcare | 21 | 973 |
| Utilities | 10 | 781 |
| Accommodation & Food | 8 | 549 |
The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 9,163 workers across 34 notices. Meanwhile, Other reported 3,392 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 131 | 13,329 |
| Closure | 133 | 11,311 |
| Temporary Layoff | 1 | 40 |
Closures accounted for 27% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| U. S. Steel | Fairfield, Alabama | 1,923 | Layoff |
| U.S. Steel Corporation | Fairfield, Alabama | 1,923 | |
| Frontier Airlines Inc | Colorado | 1,152 | Closure |
| New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority | East Rutherford, New Jersey | 1,100 | |
| US Steel Tubular Products- Lone Star | Lone Star, Texas | 1,095 | |
| Federation Employment and Guidance Services, Inc. (Health & Human Services) | New York, New York | 974 | Layoff |
| Learjet | Wichita, Kansas | 720 | |
| United States Steel Corporation Lorain | Lorain, Ohio | 636 | |
| Shire Pharmaceuticals, LLC | Wayne, Pennsylvania | 600 | |
| John Deere Waterloo Works | Waterloo, Iowa | 565 | Layoff |
The biggest impact was at U. S. Steel in Fairfield, Alabama, reporting 1,923 affected workers. U.S. Steel Corporation followed with 1,923 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
This data points to 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 2015. 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.
