The US labor market showed continued flux as employers filed 1,601 WARN Act notices in August 2020, impacting roughly 204,139 workers — representing a pullback from July and up 525% versus August 2019. Filings came from 45 states and territories, with an average of 128 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 74 | 62,580 |
| California | 474 | 31,364 |
| Florida | 114 | 14,947 |
| Hawaii | 80 | 13,209 |
| New York | 102 | 11,135 |
| Pennsylvania | 25 | 8,685 |
| Rhode Island | 20 | 4,465 |
| Tennessee | 38 | 3,700 |
| Washington | 38 | 3,485 |
| North Carolina | 24 | 3,324 |
| Ohio | 59 | 3,262 |
| Nevada | 20 | 3,216 |
| Louisiana | 21 | 3,004 |
| Texas | 53 | 2,951 |
| Massachusetts | 19 | 2,779 |
| New Jersey | 49 | 2,752 |
| West Virginia | 8 | 2,460 |
| Georgia | 53 | 2,283 |
| Wisconsin | 28 | 2,211 |
| Minnesota | 26 | 1,984 |
| Michigan | 18 | 1,864 |
| Missouri | 12 | 1,804 |
| Washington DC | 16 | 1,750 |
| Alaska | 7 | 1,660 |
| New Mexico | 9 | 1,279 |
| Oklahoma | 12 | 1,264 |
| Utah | 6 | 1,263 |
| Alabama | 8 | 1,254 |
| Colorado | 35 | 1,092 |
| Kansas | 21 | 995 |
| South Carolina | 12 | 994 |
| Indiana | 17 | 793 |
| Mississippi | 10 | 695 |
| Idaho | 6 | 669 |
| Iowa | 10 | 565 |
| Connecticut | 8 | 554 |
| Maryland | 29 | 544 |
| Virginia | 11 | 290 |
| Maine | 7 | 212 |
| Oregon | 4 | 202 |
| Arizona | 6 | 168 |
| New Hampshire | 2 | 155 |
| PR | 1 | 125 |
| Kentucky | 6 | 87 |
| Nebraska | 3 | 65 |
Illinois led the nation with 62,580 workers affected across 74 notices , followed by California (31,364 workers) and Florida (14,947 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 295 | 40,768 |
| Transportation | 84 | 14,327 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 43 | 9,326 |
| Construction | 4 | 6,272 |
| Manufacturing | 67 | 5,060 |
| Information & Technology | 26 | 4,479 |
| Healthcare | 49 | 3,820 |
| Other | 47 | 3,409 |
| Utilities | 10 | 2,665 |
| Retail | 30 | 2,229 |
The Accommodation & Food sector led the way in workforce reductions with 40,768 workers across 295 notices. In a parallel development, Transportation reported 14,327 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 509 | 70,621 |
| Closure | 131 | 14,966 |
| Temporary Layoff | 12 | 2,603 |
| Temporary Closure | 4 | 663 |
Closures accounted for 8% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Great Arrow Builders, LLC | Monaca, Pennsylvania | 6,000 | Layoff |
| MSG Entertainment Group, LLC and its affiliates MSG Arena, LLC; and Radio City Productions LLC) (6 NYC sites) | New York, New York | 2,083 | Temporary Layoff |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Honolulu, Hilo, Kahului, Kailua-Kona, Lihue, Hawaii | 2,037 | Layoff |
| Flying Food Group, LLC | 4330 N. Transworld Road, Illinois | 2,020 | |
| Culinaire International | Chicago Ave, Illinois | 2,020 | |
| RR Donnelley | 5501 W. Grand Avenue, Illinois | 2,020 | |
| G&D Integrated Contract Logistics, Inc | St. #201 Caterpillar Building, Illinois | 2,020 | |
| Windy City Distributing, L.L.C | 1103 Butterfield Road, Illinois | 2,020 | |
| Courier Distribution Systems, LLC | 808 Discovery Drive, Illinois | 2,020 | |
| Embassy Suites Employer LLC Magnificent | 511 North Columbus Drive, Illinois | 2,020 |
The single largest action involved Great Arrow Builders, LLC in Monaca, Pennsylvania, reporting 6,000 affected workers. MSG Entertainment Group, LLC and its affiliates MSG Arena, LLC; and Radio City Productions LLC) (6 NYC sites) followed with 2,083 workers.
The data underscores a mixed picture for the nation's labor market, with activity diverging between monthly and annual comparisons. The Accommodation & Food sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in August 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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