The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers reported 470 WARN Act notices in December 2015, displacing an estimated 50,071 workers — signaling an acceleration from November and up 113% versus December 2014. Filings came from 29 states and territories, with an average of 107 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 147 | 20,234 |
| Virginia | 14 | 3,510 |
| Delaware | 2 | 3,400 |
| Texas | 35 | 2,168 |
| Alabama | 22 | 2,025 |
| Pennsylvania | 16 | 1,884 |
| Georgia | 18 | 1,814 |
| New York | 17 | 1,697 |
| Tennessee | 16 | 1,556 |
| South Carolina | 5 | 1,384 |
| New Jersey | 8 | 1,298 |
| Illinois | 16 | 1,042 |
| Ohio | 16 | 1,020 |
| Kentucky | 7 | 957 |
| Nebraska | 38 | 952 |
| Florida | 16 | 906 |
| Washington | 12 | 884 |
| Connecticut | 4 | 632 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 460 |
| West Virginia | 5 | 418 |
| Kansas | 14 | 409 |
| Utah | 3 | 322 |
| Iowa | 8 | 315 |
| Oregon | 7 | 244 |
| Louisiana | 4 | 181 |
| Maryland | 3 | 178 |
| Vermont | 6 | 95 |
| Oklahoma | 2 | 60 |
| Indiana | 3 | 26 |
California led the nation with 20,234 workers affected across 147 notices , followed by Virginia (3,510 workers) and Delaware (3,400 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture | 8 | 7,040 |
| Accommodation & Food | 6 | 5,380 |
| Healthcare | 20 | 2,562 |
| Information & Technology | 18 | 1,528 |
| Finance & Insurance | 7 | 1,521 |
| Manufacturing | 25 | 1,337 |
| Transportation | 8 | 662 |
| Utilities | 9 | 450 |
| Other | 8 | 337 |
| Education | 4 | 300 |
The Agriculture sector topped the list of affected industries with 7,040 workers across 8 notices. Notably, Accommodation & Food reported 5,380 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 90 | 14,708 |
| Layoff | 89 | 8,365 |
| Temporary Closure | 1 | 113 |
| Temporary Layoff | 2 | 63 |
Closures accounted for 30% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gerawan Farming, Inc | Kerman, California | 2,551 | Closure |
| Gerawan Farming, Inc | Kerman, California | 2,551 | |
| DNCParks&ResortsatYosemite,Inc | Yosemite National, California | 1,718 | Closure |
| DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc | Yosemite National, California | 1,718 | |
| DNC Parks & Resorts at Yosemite, Inc | Yosemite National, California | 1,718 | Closure |
| DuPont | Wilmington, Delaware | 1,700 | |
| DuPont | Purchase dataset for city details, Delaware | 1,700 | |
| Hyatt Regency Century Plaza | Los Angeles, California | 796 | Closure |
| Hyatt Regency Century Plaza | Los Angeles, California | 796 | Closure |
| Newport News Shipbuilding | Newport News, Virginia | 741 | Layoff |
The most significant filing came from Gerawan Farming, Inc in Kerman, California, reporting 2,551 affected workers. Gerawan Farming, Inc followed with 2,551 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Agriculture sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in December 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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