The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 604 WARN Act notices in May 2016, affecting an estimated 46,879 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to April and up 41% versus May 2015. Filings came from 40 states and territories, with an average of 78 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 142 | 9,574 |
| Georgia | 18 | 3,280 |
| Maryland | 32 | 2,852 |
| Texas | 59 | 2,794 |
| Washington | 14 | 2,312 |
| Alabama | 11 | 2,014 |
| Connecticut | 18 | 1,978 |
| Wisconsin | 27 | 1,754 |
| Colorado | 10 | 1,508 |
| Indiana | 6 | 1,318 |
| Utah | 9 | 1,269 |
| Michigan | 12 | 1,234 |
| Pennsylvania | 15 | 1,219 |
| Kentucky | 15 | 1,158 |
| Florida | 12 | 1,132 |
| Oklahoma | 8 | 1,121 |
| Missouri | 8 | 828 |
| Rhode Island | 7 | 822 |
| North Carolina | 4 | 818 |
| Kansas | 11 | 807 |
| Ohio | 23 | 759 |
| Virginia | 6 | 732 |
| New York | 23 | 637 |
| Idaho | 3 | 630 |
| New Jersey | 5 | 541 |
| Iowa | 27 | 525 |
| South Carolina | 4 | 498 |
| Arizona | 8 | 426 |
| Oregon | 4 | 390 |
| Mississippi | 3 | 389 |
| Delaware | 2 | 302 |
| New Mexico | 1 | 300 |
| West Virginia | 6 | 266 |
| Tennessee | 2 | 208 |
| North Dakota | 3 | 206 |
| Vermont | 3 | 103 |
| Louisiana | 1 | 80 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 72 |
| Nebraska | 30 | 23 |
| Illinois | 11 | 0 |
California led the nation with 9,574 workers affected across 142 notices , followed by Georgia (3,280 workers) and Maryland (2,852 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing | 23 | 2,110 |
| Information & Technology | 23 | 1,856 |
| Healthcare | 23 | 1,550 |
| Utilities | 15 | 1,421 |
| Other | 21 | 1,384 |
| Retail | 14 | 1,005 |
| Finance & Insurance | 24 | 964 |
| Accommodation & Food | 7 | 621 |
| Construction | 4 | 342 |
| Mining & Energy | 8 | 336 |
The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 2,110 workers across 23 notices. On a related front, Information & Technology reported 1,856 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 165 | 13,389 |
| Layoff | 120 | 8,688 |
| Temporary Layoff | 3 | 126 |
Closures accounted for 29% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reliant Transportation, inc | Savannah, Georgia | 720 | |
| Reliant Transportation, inc | Savannah, Georgia | 720 | |
| Hallmark Cards, Inc. and Hallmark Marketing Co., LLC (Update to 10/2/15 notice) | Enfield, Connecticut | 554 | Closure |
| Hallmark Cards, Inc. and Hallmark Marketing Co., LLC (Update to 10/2/15 notice) | Enfield, Connecticut | 554 | |
| Diversified Machine Bristol LLC | Bristol, Indiana | 500 | Layoff |
| Diversified Machine Bristol LLC | Bristol, Indiana | 500 | |
| Sports Authority | Colorado | 461 | Closure |
| Sports Authority | Arapahoe/Douglas, Colorado | 461 | |
| Concentrix Corporation | Norcross, Georgia | 454 | |
| Concentrix | Norcross, Georgia | 454 |
The largest notice was filed by Reliant Transportation, inc in Savannah, Georgia, reporting 720 affected workers. Reliant Transportation, inc followed with 720 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The trends suggest 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 May 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.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
