The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers reported 7,963 WARN Act notices in April 2020, displacing an estimated 1,426,030 workers — signaling an acceleration from March and up 3535% versus April 2019. Filings came from 49 states and territories, with an average of 179 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | 33 | 630,718 |
| California | 3979 | 239,554 |
| Illinois | 136 | 133,503 |
| New York | 506 | 54,237 |
| Nevada | 100 | 46,589 |
| Florida | 295 | 37,906 |
| Texas | 312 | 23,674 |
| Pennsylvania | 125 | 20,505 |
| Indiana | 102 | 17,478 |
| Kentucky | 158 | 16,886 |
| Ohio | 94 | 16,238 |
| Wisconsin | 137 | 15,085 |
| Michigan | 148 | 14,317 |
| Tennessee | 158 | 12,060 |
| Washington | 70 | 11,663 |
| Massachusetts | 51 | 9,808 |
| Missouri | 53 | 9,799 |
| Minnesota | 66 | 8,573 |
| North Carolina | 135 | 8,247 |
| Arizona | 133 | 8,047 |
| Virginia | 78 | 7,665 |
| Utah | 30 | 7,266 |
| Maryland | 97 | 6,945 |
| Hawaii | 47 | 6,421 |
| Mississippi | 69 | 6,126 |
| New Jersey | 53 | 5,735 |
| Oklahoma | 40 | 5,682 |
| Oregon | 84 | 5,527 |
| Colorado | 135 | 5,474 |
| Georgia | 157 | 4,919 |
| Idaho | 72 | 4,369 |
| New Mexico | 21 | 4,260 |
| West Virginia | 16 | 3,742 |
| Louisiana | 37 | 2,948 |
| Connecticut | 58 | 2,658 |
| Alaska | 25 | 2,335 |
| Kansas | 49 | 1,793 |
| Alabama | 14 | 1,386 |
| Rhode Island | 21 | 1,013 |
| South Dakota | 6 | 956 |
| Delaware | 6 | 920 |
| Maine | 24 | 714 |
| Washington DC | 5 | 626 |
| Iowa | 11 | 535 |
| Montana | 8 | 474 |
| North Dakota | 4 | 314 |
| Vermont | 3 | 244 |
| Nebraska | 1 | 96 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 0 |
South Carolina led the nation with 630,718 workers affected across 33 notices , followed by California (239,554 workers) and Illinois (133,503 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 1088 | 167,035 |
| Other | 300 | 45,730 |
| Manufacturing | 529 | 40,098 |
| Healthcare | 358 | 29,322 |
| Retail | 258 | 14,965 |
| Transportation | 77 | 11,386 |
| Education | 90 | 11,171 |
| Mining & Energy | 61 | 10,889 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 122 | 10,431 |
| Information & Technology | 104 | 7,500 |
The Accommodation & Food sector topped the list of affected industries with 167,035 workers across 1088 notices. Notably, Other reported 45,730 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 3198 | 397,392 |
| Closure | 729 | 97,773 |
| Temporary Closure | 14 | 2,984 |
| Temporary Layoff | 21 | 2,205 |
Closures accounted for 7% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| The YMCA | South Carolina | 624,190 | |
| OS Restaurant Services, LLC Outback | Tampa, Florida | 7,293 | |
| Desert Palace Inc. - Caesars LV | Las Vegas, Nevada | 6,148 | Layoff |
| OS Restaurant Services, LLC Carrabba's | Statewide, Florida | 4,538 | |
| OS Restaurant Services, LLC | Various Cities, Ohio | 3,360 | |
| OS Restaurant Services, LLC Bonefish | Statewide, Florida | 3,216 | |
| Harrah's Las Vegas | Las Vegas, Nevada | 3,182 | Layoff |
| Pacific Dental Services, LLC | Irvine, California | 3,029 | Layoff |
| Kyoya Ohana LLC dba Sheraton Waikiki Hotel; Royal Hawaiian, A Luxury Collection Resort; The Moana Surfrider Hotels, a Westin Resort and Spa; Sheraton Princess Kaiulani Hotel; Sheraton Maui, Resort and Spa | Honolulu, Lahaina, Hawaii | 3,000 | Layoff |
| OS Restaurant Services LLC Bloomin' Brands Inc | Statewide, Pennsylvania | 2,952 | Closure |
The most significant filing came from The YMCA in South Carolina, reporting 624,190 affected workers. OS Restaurant Services, LLC Outback followed with 7,293 workers.
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the the nation 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 report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in April 2020. 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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