Washington Layoffs — April 2020

Employers in Washington reported 40 WARN Act notices in April 2020, displacing an estimated 6,896 workers — signaling a deceleration from March and up 5288% versus April 2019. The average filing covered 172 workers, with 4 closures among the notices.

Industry Breakdown

The Government sector topped the list of affected industries with 2,249 workers across 2 notices. Notably, Manufacturing reported 2,130 workers.

Geographic Hotspots

King bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 66% of all affected workers with 4,570 workers across 19 notices.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 3% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.

Largest Layoffs

The most significant filing came from Seattle Goodwill Industries at its Seattle facility, reporting 2,192 affected workers. Pacific Northwest Ballet followed with 733 workers.

Trend & Outlook

The numbers illustrate a mixed picture for Washington's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Government sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.

This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Washington. 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 Washington WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.