US Layoffs — July 2003

The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers logged 129 WARN Act notices in July 2003, involving roughly 18,803 workers — climbing above June and up 24% versus July 2002. Filings came from 12 states and territories, with an average of 146 workers per notice.

Top States by Workers Affected

Illinois led the nation with 3,789 workers affected across 16 notices , followed by Texas (2,595 workers) and Ohio (2,328 workers) .

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector dominated layoff filings with 10,715 workers across 69 notices. Meanwhile, Wholesale Trade reported 3,174 workers.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 40% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.

Largest Layoffs

The biggest impact was at Johnson & Johnson/Pfizer in Skokie, Illinois, reporting 1,500 affected workers. Fruit of the Loom followed with 791 workers.

Trend & Outlook

After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.

This data points to 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 July 2003. 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.