The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers reported 563 WARN Act notices in December 2018, displacing an estimated 37,085 workers — signaling an acceleration from November and up 36% versus December 2017. Filings came from 34 states and territories, with an average of 66 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 133 | 8,981 |
| Ohio | 14 | 4,461 |
| Georgia | 30 | 3,444 |
| New York | 62 | 3,035 |
| Florida | 27 | 3,020 |
| Michigan | 21 | 2,154 |
| Texas | 70 | 1,691 |
| New Jersey | 15 | 1,535 |
| Illinois | 14 | 1,089 |
| Minnesota | 22 | 827 |
| Kentucky | 8 | 822 |
| South Carolina | 3 | 815 |
| Missouri | 8 | 738 |
| Tennessee | 6 | 653 |
| Nebraska | 29 | 584 |
| Washington | 11 | 522 |
| North Carolina | 3 | 315 |
| Maryland | 6 | 294 |
| Indiana | 4 | 284 |
| Iowa | 11 | 274 |
| Pennsylvania | 3 | 271 |
| Mississippi | 2 | 200 |
| Oregon | 11 | 196 |
| Kansas | 16 | 152 |
| Arizona | 2 | 134 |
| Connecticut | 3 | 120 |
| Colorado | 4 | 102 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 98 |
| Rhode Island | 1 | 92 |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 66 |
| Maine | 14 | 64 |
| Delaware | 3 | 29 |
| Vermont | 2 | 14 |
| West Virginia | 1 | 9 |
California led the nation with 8,981 workers affected across 133 notices , followed by Ohio (4,461 workers) and Georgia (3,444 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare | 94 | 9,154 |
| Manufacturing | 23 | 1,584 |
| Finance & Insurance | 23 | 1,120 |
| Professional Services | 9 | 874 |
| Information & Technology | 20 | 817 |
| Other | 8 | 527 |
| Retail | 12 | 411 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 6 | 360 |
| Accommodation & Food | 7 | 231 |
| Wholesale Trade | 4 | 172 |
The Healthcare sector topped the list of affected industries with 9,154 workers across 94 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 1,584 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 55 | 6,616 |
| Closure | 85 | 6,243 |
Closures accounted for 17% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Lordstown Complex | Warren, Ohio | 1,607 | |
| General Motors | Warren/Trumbull, Ohio | 1,607 | |
| Verity Health System | San Jose, California | 1,326 | |
| Verity Health System of California, Inc | San Jose, California | 1,326 | Layoff |
| Bay Medical Sacred Heart Hospital | Panama City, Florida | 634 | |
| Bay Medical Sacred | Panama City, Florida | 634 | |
| Aecom-Urs | Kennedy Space Center, Florida | 629 | |
| Aecom-Urs | Center, Florida | 629 | |
| GM Detroit Hamtramck | Detroit, Michigan | 620 | Closure |
| General Motors | Detroit, Michigan | 620 |
The most significant filing came from GM Lordstown Complex in Warren, Ohio, reporting 1,607 affected workers. General Motors followed with 1,607 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 Healthcare sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in December 2018. 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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