The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers reported 422 WARN Act notices in August 2022, displacing an estimated 39,366 workers — signaling an acceleration from July and up 52% versus August 2021. Filings came from 38 states and territories, with an average of 93 workers per notice.
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 22 | 9,358 |
| California | 102 | 9,122 |
| Texas | 36 | 2,292 |
| Maryland | 15 | 1,702 |
| South Carolina | 5 | 1,290 |
| Hawaii | 33 | 1,227 |
| Colorado | 17 | 1,087 |
| Tennessee | 6 | 1,062 |
| Michigan | 10 | 912 |
| New Mexico | 10 | 867 |
| Ohio | 17 | 859 |
| Iowa | 21 | 783 |
| Massachusetts | 10 | 781 |
| Mississippi | 14 | 755 |
| North Dakota | 1 | 670 |
| Pennsylvania | 5 | 616 |
| Connecticut | 4 | 604 |
| Oregon | 4 | 592 |
| Wisconsin | 4 | 526 |
| Georgia | 11 | 498 |
| Arizona | 10 | 444 |
| North Carolina | 6 | 432 |
| Oklahoma | 9 | 368 |
| Utah | 4 | 366 |
| Florida | 5 | 352 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 348 |
| New Jersey | 2 | 338 |
| Minnesota | 7 | 297 |
| Louisiana | 2 | 187 |
| Nevada | 2 | 144 |
| Indiana | 2 | 142 |
| Virginia | 1 | 95 |
| South Dakota | 2 | 94 |
| Washington | 2 | 90 |
| Missouri | 1 | 66 |
| New York | 14 | 0 |
| Kansas | 2 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 1 | 0 |
Illinois led the nation with 9,358 workers affected across 22 notices , followed by California (9,122 workers) and Texas (2,292 workers) .
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Wholesale Trade | 4 | 2,171 |
| Healthcare | 27 | 2,076 |
| Manufacturing | 26 | 2,037 |
| Finance & Insurance | 15 | 1,798 |
| Other | 12 | 1,465 |
| Information & Technology | 14 | 1,131 |
| Transportation | 11 | 804 |
| Utilities | 5 | 766 |
| Mining & Energy | 5 | 422 |
| Retail | 6 | 210 |
The Wholesale Trade sector topped the list of affected industries with 2,171 workers across 4 notices. Notably, Healthcare reported 2,076 workers.
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Closure | 87 | 10,546 |
| Layoff | 76 | 5,137 |
| Temporary Layoff | 2 | 108 |
Closures accounted for 27% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bergstrom | 4060 Mound Road, Illinois | 2,022 | |
| Bloomingdale's | Center, Illinois | 2,022 | |
| Fernlea Nurseries, Inc | 14240 Greenhouse Ave, Illinois | 2,022 | |
| RT Wholesale, LLC | 11227 Franklin Ave, Illinois | 2,022 | |
| Watsonville Community Hospital | Watsonville, North Dakota | 670 | |
| Cepheid | California | 632 | Closure |
| Mohawk ESV, Inc | Bennettsville, South Carolina | 600 | Closure |
| Autodesk | California | 578 | Closure |
| Autodesk | San Rafael, California | 578 | Closure |
| SAS Airport Services Hawaii Inc | Honolulu, Hawaii | 550 |
The most significant filing came from Bergstrom in 4060 Mound Road, Illinois, reporting 2,022 affected workers. Bloomingdale's followed with 2,022 workers.
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The numbers illustrate mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Wholesale Trade sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in August 2022. 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.
Get weekly layoff reports in your inbox
Free weekly digest of WARN Act filings and analysis.
