US Layoffs — March 2019

The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers logged 649 WARN Act notices in March 2019, involving roughly 41,746 workers — climbing above February and up 18% versus March 2018. Filings came from 40 states and territories, with an average of 64 workers per notice.

Top States by Workers Affected

State	Notices	Workers
California	132	5,634
Minnesota	61	2,940
Ohio	23	2,748
Wisconsin	24	2,697
Texas	39	2,605
New York	61	2,468
Georgia	18	2,224
Colorado	9	2,054
Maryland	17	1,730
Michigan	21	1,688
Tennessee	10	1,266
Kentucky	12	1,188
Florida	20	1,104
Virginia	12	1,104
North Carolina	7	1,001
Indiana	4	938
Vermont	4	884
New Mexico	3	771
Kansas	12	670
Alabama	4	666
Louisiana	6	646
Arizona	14	616
Missouri	6	554
Washington	11	500
Iowa	22	414
Nebraska	42	392
PR	2	350
Pennsylvania	5	342
South Carolina	5	278
Oklahoma	4	256
Utah	3	231
Hawaii	6	164
Nevada	1	141
New Hampshire	1	136
New Jersey	9	130
Mississippi	2	99
Rhode Island	1	62
Washington DC	1	55
Illinois	12	0
Maine	3	0

California led the nation with 5,634 workers affected across 132 notices , followed by Minnesota (2,940 workers) and Ohio (2,748 workers) .

Industry Breakdown

Industry	Notices	Workers
Retail	54	4,016
Healthcare	59	4,003
Information & Technology	40	2,153
Transportation	20	1,331
Finance & Insurance	16	1,299
Accommodation & Food	26	1,271
Manufacturing	29	1,220
Other	12	1,180
Education	14	738
Utilities	10	554

The Retail sector dominated layoff filings with 4,016 workers across 54 notices. Meanwhile, Healthcare reported 4,003 workers.

Layoff Type Analysis

Type	Notices	Workers
Closure	162	12,502
Layoff	95	7,635
Temporary Closure	3	121

Closures accounted for 30% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.

Largest Layoffs

Company	Location	Workers	Type
Shopko	Abbotsford, Adams, Appleton, Arcadia, Ashwaubenon, Beaver Dam, Chippewa Falls, Clintonville, De Pere, Eagle River, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Fort Atkinson, Green Bay, Janesville, La Crosse, Lancaster, Marshfield, Mequon, Monroe, Neillsville, Oconto, Onalaska, Oshkosh, Park Falls, Reedsburg, Rice Lake, River Falls, Rothschild, Sister Bay, Spooner, Stanley, Suamico, Tomahawk, Waukesha, Wausau, Wautoma, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin	1,715	Closure
GM Lordstown Complex	Warren, Ohio	1,607
Husqvarna	McRae, Georgia	1,093
Invesco (OppenheimerFunds OFI)	Colorado	850
Invesco (OppenheimerFunds OFI)	Arapahoe/Douglas (Centennial), Colorado	850
Cypress Fairbanks Medical Center	Houston, Texas	586
Vincent B. Zaninovich & Sons, Inc	Delano, California	511	Layoff
Laser Spine Inst., LLC & LSI Management Co., LLC	Tampa, Florida	420
Teleperformance USA-FHCS, Inc	Dallas, Texas	390
POP Displays USA, LLC	Yonkers, New York	388	Closure

The biggest impact was at Shopko in Abbotsford, Adams, Appleton, Arcadia, Ashwaubenon, Beaver Dam, Chippewa Falls, Clintonville, De Pere, Eagle River, Eau Claire, Fond du Lac, Fort Atkinson, Green Bay, Janesville, La Crosse, Lancaster, Marshfield, Mequon, Monroe, Neillsville, Oconto, Onalaska, Oshkosh, Park Falls, Reedsburg, Rice Lake, River Falls, Rothschild, Sister Bay, Spooner, Stanley, Suamico, Tomahawk, Waukesha, Wausau, Wautoma, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, reporting 1,715 affected workers. GM Lordstown Complex followed with 1,607 workers.

Trend & Outlook

This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.

This data points to 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 March 2019. 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.