Skip to main content

US Layoffs — May 2024

The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers submitted 479 WARN Act notices in May 2024, putting at risk an estimated 50,756 workers — up substantially from April and up 73% versus May 2023. Filings came from 38 states and territories, with an average of 106 workers per notice.

479
Total Notices
50,756
Workers Affected
38
States Reporting
106
Avg per Notice
108
Closures

Top States by Workers Affected

State-by-state layoff summary
StateNoticesWorkers
California22711,039
Texas269,428
Nevada87,226
Tennessee133,101
New Jersey132,084
Georgia112,073
Florida131,209
Arizona131,063
Michigan91,003
Illinois7996
Colorado9893
Oregon8827
Pennsylvania8800
Maryland14791
Ohio8781
Hawaii1780
Washington7779
Minnesota18688
Massachusetts3649
North Carolina4625
Wisconsin8463
Missouri3409
Iowa13395
South Carolina4347
Kansas1318
Alabama2314
Kentucky9255
Virginia1235
Nebraska2228
New Hampshire2171
Indiana2170
Connecticut3151
Mississippi2144
Louisiana1113
Rhode Island3102
South Dakota159
Utah146
North Dakota11

California led the nation with 11,039 workers affected across 227 notices , followed by Texas (9,428 workers) and Nevada (7,226 workers) .

Industry Breakdown

Industry breakdown
IndustryNoticesWorkers
Manufacturing10712,275
Accommodation & Food335,692
Retail485,110
Healthcare904,821
Construction94,636
Mining & Energy74,393
Transportation323,875
Information & Technology442,618
Professional Services292,382
Finance & Insurance13817

The Manufacturing sector emerged as the hardest-hit sector with 12,275 workers across 107 notices. Separately, Accommodation & Food reported 5,692 workers.

Layoff Type Analysis

Layoff types breakdown
TypeNoticesWorkers
Closure10815,121
Layoff21711,596
Temporary Layoff178

Closures accounted for 30% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.

Largest Layoffs

Largest layoff notices
CompanyLocationWorkersType
Zachry Industrial, Inc. (Sabine Pass)Sabine Pass, Texas4,072
The Mirage Casino-HotelLas Vegas, Nevada3,350Closure
LLC Las VegasClark, Nevada3,350Closure
National Aerospace SolutionsCoffee County, Tennessee1,700
Walmart (Munger Blvd.)Dallas, Texas1,266
Benchmark Hospitality of Hawaii, LLC DBA Turtle Bay ResortKahuku, Hawaii780
Bristol Myers SquibbLawrenceville, New Jersey776
Grocery Delivery E-Services USANewnan, Georgia727Closure
Aramark Baylor(1919 S.First Street)Waco, Texas691
Kalil BottlingTucson, Arizona546

Topping the list was Zachry Industrial, Inc. (Sabine Pass) in Sabine Pass, Texas, reporting 4,072 affected workers. The Mirage Casino-Hotel followed with 3,350 workers.

Trend & Outlook

This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.

These figures highlight mounting pressure on the the nation labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Manufacturing sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.

This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in May 2024. 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, which also tracks SEC 8-K filings, bankruptcy proceedings, H-1B visa petitions, and unemployment claims across all six datasets. API access and data exports available.

Related Analysis

Want the full dataset?

Browse Layoff Data Get API Access