Iowa Layoffs — March 2023
Employers in Iowa filed 5 WARN Act notices in March 2023, impacting roughly 458 workers — representing a notable rise over February and up 152% versus March 2022. The average filing covered 92 workers, with 1 closure among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Transportation | 2 | 226 |
| Education | 2 | 215 |
| Information & Technology | 1 | 17 |
The Transportation sector led the way in workforce reductions with 226 workers across 2 notices. In a parallel development, Education reported 215 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Scott | 1 | 129 |
| Henry | 1 | 118 |
| Black Hawke | 1 | 97 |
| Black Hawk | 1 | 97 |
| Johnson | 1 | 17 |
Scott felt the sharpest impact, accounting for 28% of all affected workers with 129 workers across 1 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Waterloo | 2 | 194 |
| Davenport | 1 | 129 |
| Mount Pleasant | 1 | 118 |
| Iowa City | 1 | 17 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 3 | 323 |
| Closure | 1 | 118 |
Closures accounted for 26% of affected workers, while the majority of filings were layoffs rather than permanent shutdowns.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | City | Workers | Type | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duraham School Services | Davenport | 129 | Layoff | |
| Iowa Wesleyan Univeristy | Mount Pleasant | 118 | Closure | |
| Duraham School Services | Waterloo | 97 | Layoff | |
| Durham School Services | Waterloo | 97 | Layoff | |
| Pearson | Iowa City | 17 |
The single largest action involved Duraham School Services at its Davenport facility, reporting 129 affected workers. Iowa Wesleyan Univeristy followed with 118 workers.
Trend & Outlook
This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.
The data underscores mounting pressure on the Iowa labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Transportation sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by Iowa. 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 Iowa WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.