The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 2,029 WARN Act notices in July 2020, affecting an estimated 373,012 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to June and up 1028% versus July 2019. Filings came from 47 states and territories, with an average of 184 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 195 | 159,081 |
| California | 618 | 32,931 |
| New York | 107 | 28,569 |
| Florida | 104 | 18,060 |
| Michigan | 47 | 10,163 |
| New Jersey | 17 | 8,363 |
| Nevada | 30 | 8,060 |
| Ohio | 81 | 6,306 |
| Indiana | 36 | 5,771 |
| Colorado | 58 | 5,709 |
| Wisconsin | 42 | 5,547 |
| Louisiana | 24 | 5,076 |
| Washington | 48 | 5,042 |
| Missouri | 15 | 4,891 |
| Oregon | 34 | 4,880 |
| Kansas | 18 | 4,540 |
| Texas | 83 | 4,513 |
| Hawaii | 74 | 4,221 |
| Pennsylvania | 31 | 4,204 |
| Virginia | 18 | 4,185 |
| Arizona | 10 | 4,158 |
| Washington DC | 15 | 4,083 |
| Oklahoma | 12 | 3,832 |
| North Carolina | 16 | 3,457 |
| Tennessee | 32 | 3,306 |
| Connecticut | 22 | 2,968 |
| Kentucky | 33 | 2,769 |
| West Virginia | 7 | 2,445 |
| Rhode Island | 6 | 1,669 |
| South Carolina | 11 | 1,589 |
| Minnesota | 28 | 1,542 |
| Alabama | 11 | 1,329 |
| New Mexico | 10 | 1,189 |
| Maryland | 18 | 1,127 |
| Utah | 12 | 1,113 |
| Iowa | 12 | 1,050 |
| Georgia | 19 | 1,029 |
| Massachusetts | 21 | 992 |
| Alaska | 4 | 790 |
| Nebraska | 11 | 640 |
| PR | 3 | 379 |
| Delaware | 2 | 338 |
| New Hampshire | 4 | 296 |
| Mississippi | 14 | 294 |
| Maine | 10 | 256 |
| North Dakota | 3 | 200 |
| Idaho | 3 | 60 |
Illinois led the nation with 159,081 workers affected across 195 notices , followed by California (32,931 workers) and New York (28,569 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 364 | 72,187 |
| Transportation | 170 | 59,456 |
| Other | 75 | 18,014 |
| Healthcare | 62 | 7,094 |
| Information & Technology | 34 | 6,527 |
| Utilities | 20 | 3,663 |
| Manufacturing | 51 | 3,440 |
| Retail | 45 | 3,037 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 24 | 2,463 |
| Finance & Insurance | 4 | 2,279 |
The Accommodation & Food sector saw the heaviest impact with 72,187 workers across 364 notices. On a related front, Transportation reported 59,456 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 618 | 102,363 |
| Closure | 184 | 27,244 |
| Temporary Closure | 5 | 903 |
| Temporary Layoff | 3 | 256 |
Closures accounted for 8% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines, Inc | Newark, New Jersey | 7,264 | |
| United Airlines, Inc | Chicago, Illinois | 4,275 | |
| The Cosmopolitan LV | Las Vegas, Nevada | 3,128 | Layoff |
| United Airlines (Washington Dulles International Airport) | Dulles, Virginia | 3,036 | Layoff |
| United Airlines | Colorado | 2,820 | |
| MotorCity Casino Hotel | Detroit, Michigan | 2,554 | Layoff |
| MotorCity Casino Hotel | Detroit, Michigan | 2,554 | |
| American Airlines, Inc | Flushing, New York | 2,301 | Layoff |
| Air Wisconsin Airlines | O’Hare International Airport 8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave- Suite 705, Illinois | 2,020 | |
| Airport Management Services and Hudson Group | Chicago Midway International Airport, 5700 S Cicero Ave, Illinois | 2,020 |
The largest notice was filed by United Airlines, Inc in Newark, New Jersey, reporting 7,264 affected workers. United Airlines, Inc followed with 4,275 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest 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 July 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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