The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 526 WARN Act notices in March 2015, affecting an estimated 38,480 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 37% versus March 2014. Filings came from 35 states and territories, with an average of 73 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 133 | 9,080 |
| New York | 99 | 7,841 |
| Pennsylvania | 11 | 2,032 |
| Indiana | 12 | 1,920 |
| Oklahoma | 22 | 1,895 |
| Texas | 18 | 1,814 |
| Georgia | 19 | 1,658 |
| Florida | 28 | 1,426 |
| Virginia | 12 | 1,086 |
| North Carolina | 7 | 978 |
| Alabama | 8 | 964 |
| Ohio | 15 | 771 |
| Tennessee | 18 | 713 |
| Louisiana | 5 | 707 |
| Arizona | 8 | 698 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 595 |
| Iowa | 5 | 593 |
| Missouri | 4 | 524 |
| Idaho | 3 | 495 |
| Colorado | 15 | 410 |
| Connecticut | 10 | 372 |
| Rhode Island | 4 | 357 |
| Nebraska | 10 | 299 |
| Maryland | 2 | 244 |
| Washington | 5 | 219 |
| Utah | 2 | 190 |
| Oregon | 10 | 176 |
| Kansas | 4 | 171 |
| New Jersey | 9 | 104 |
| Michigan | 1 | 50 |
| Delaware | 1 | 33 |
| Mississippi | 2 | 32 |
| South Carolina | 2 | 22 |
| Vermont | 1 | 11 |
| Illinois | 13 | 0 |
California led the nation with 9,080 workers affected across 133 notices , followed by New York (7,841 workers) and Pennsylvania (2,032 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 90 | 7,190 |
| Other | 30 | 2,163 |
| Manufacturing | 30 | 2,001 |
| Utilities | 17 | 1,557 |
| Finance & Insurance | 18 | 1,192 |
| Information & Technology | 16 | 1,116 |
| Healthcare | 30 | 1,102 |
| Accommodation & Food | 5 | 774 |
| Mining & Energy | 8 | 573 |
| Education | 9 | 561 |
The Transportation sector saw the heaviest impact with 7,190 workers across 90 notices. On a related front, Other reported 2,163 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 136 | 13,114 |
| Layoff | 160 | 9,716 |
| Temporary Layoff | 8 | 295 |
| Temporary Closure | 2 | 160 |
Closures accounted for 34% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinite Care Inc | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1,324 | |
| Service America Corporation, d/b/a | San Diego, California | 831 | Layoff |
| Service America Corporation, d/b/a | San Diego, California | 831 | Layoff |
| Sitel | Augusta, Georgia | 677 | |
| USS-POSCO Industries | Pittsburg, California | 666 | Closure |
| DAL Global Services, LLC - Delta Air Lines - Cabin Services | Jamaica, New York | 576 | Closure |
| Pioneer Transportation Corp | Staten Island, New York | 519 | Closure |
| John Deere Waterloo Works | Waterloo, Iowa | 499 | |
| Northrop Grumman Corporation | Fort Irwin, California | 476 | Layoff |
| Briggs and Stratton Co | McDonough, Georgia | 447 |
The largest notice was filed by Infinite Care Inc in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reporting 1,324 affected workers. Service America Corporation, d/b/a followed with 831 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 Transportation sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in March 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.
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