New York Layoffs — March 2020
Employers in New York logged 1416 WARN Act notices in March 2020, involving roughly 174,911 workers — climbing above February and up 6947% versus March 2019. The average filing covered 124 workers, with 731 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 345 | 46,376 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 47 | 9,875 |
| Healthcare | 45 | 6,022 |
| Retail | 18 | 2,317 |
| Manufacturing | 29 | 2,317 |
| Transportation | 11 | 1,752 |
| Education | 6 | 1,716 |
| Information & Technology | 8 | 1,000 |
The Accommodation & Food sector dominated layoff filings with 46,376 workers across 345 notices. Meanwhile, Arts & Entertainment reported 9,875 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 827 | 100,613 |
| Queens | 56 | 9,461 |
| Monroe | 24 | 7,561 |
| Kings | 74 | 6,163 |
| Suffolk | 61 | 6,016 |
New York felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 58% of all affected workers with 100,613 workers across 827 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 826 | 101,481 |
| Brooklyn | 80 | 7,305 |
| Rochester | 22 | 7,180 |
| Buffalo | 21 | 4,387 |
| Albany | 21 | 3,450 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary Closure | 657 | 82,909 |
| Temporary Layoff | 608 | 74,081 |
| Closure | 74 | 9,479 |
| Layoff | 75 | 7,999 |
The high proportion of closures (53% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in New York's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
The biggest impact was at Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. (Metropolitan Opera House) at its New York facility, reporting 2,279 affected workers. The YMCA of Greater Rochester (multiple sites) followed with 2,090 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
This data points to mounting pressure on the New York labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Accommodation & Food sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by New York. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers with 100+ employees to provide 60-day advance notice of mass layoffs and plant closings. Data is updated daily by WARN Firehose. View all New York WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.