The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers submitted 613 WARN Act notices in January 2016, putting at risk an estimated 56,002 workers — up substantially from December and up 35% versus January 2015. Filings came from 43 states and territories, with an average of 91 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 128 | 11,500 |
| Texas | 29 | 4,631 |
| Missouri | 10 | 3,420 |
| New York | 56 | 3,386 |
| Pennsylvania | 11 | 3,326 |
| North Carolina | 11 | 2,774 |
| Virginia | 18 | 2,073 |
| Michigan | 10 | 1,798 |
| Kentucky | 12 | 1,797 |
| Arizona | 18 | 1,672 |
| West Virginia | 7 | 1,570 |
| Ohio | 18 | 1,500 |
| Connecticut | 18 | 1,496 |
| Colorado | 25 | 1,432 |
| Alabama | 7 | 1,258 |
| Florida | 19 | 1,160 |
| Maryland | 10 | 1,148 |
| Kansas | 15 | 1,129 |
| Tennessee | 16 | 1,022 |
| Wisconsin | 17 | 986 |
| Nebraska | 25 | 697 |
| Indiana | 8 | 568 |
| New Mexico | 3 | 519 |
| Georgia | 16 | 502 |
| Alaska | 4 | 486 |
| Iowa | 14 | 464 |
| Oklahoma | 12 | 422 |
| Rhode Island | 5 | 372 |
| Louisiana | 6 | 363 |
| South Carolina | 6 | 356 |
| Oregon | 6 | 306 |
| Mississippi | 3 | 299 |
| Idaho | 3 | 267 |
| Vermont | 7 | 249 |
| Utah | 3 | 201 |
| Montana | 4 | 200 |
| Washington | 5 | 181 |
| Washington DC | 2 | 134 |
| New Jersey | 4 | 125 |
| Delaware | 2 | 108 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 95 |
| Minnesota | 1 | 10 |
| Illinois | 18 | 0 |
California led the nation with 11,500 workers affected across 128 notices , followed by Texas (4,631 workers) and Missouri (3,420 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 75 | 8,057 |
| Manufacturing | 36 | 3,925 |
| Healthcare | 23 | 2,419 |
| Other | 34 | 2,014 |
| Mining & Energy | 10 | 1,947 |
| Transportation | 17 | 1,465 |
| Wholesale Trade | 16 | 1,320 |
| Finance & Insurance | 20 | 1,117 |
| Agriculture | 4 | 1,033 |
| Utilities | 4 | 592 |
The Retail sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 8,057 workers across 75 notices. Separately, Manufacturing reported 3,925 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 185 | 18,188 |
| Layoff | 119 | 14,297 |
Closures accounted for 32% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardone | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 1,366 | |
| Daimler Trucks North America LLC | Cleveland, North Carolina | 936 | Layoff |
| Sprint | Overland Park, Kansas | 829 | |
| Broadcom and Avago | Irvine, California | 771 | Layoff |
| Macy's Credit and Customer Services | Bridgeton, Missouri | 752 | Closure |
| Macy's | Bridgeton, Missouri | 752 | |
| Noranda Aluminum, Inc | New Madrid, Missouri | 710 | Layoff |
| Noranda Aluminum, Inc | New Madrid, Missouri | 710 | |
| North Philadelphia Health System | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | 700 | |
| Broadcom and Avago | Irvine, California | 689 | Layoff |
Topping the list was Cardone in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, reporting 1,366 affected workers. Daimler Trucks North America LLC followed with 936 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
These figures highlight mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in January 2016. 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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