US Layoffs — January 2018

The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers logged 426 WARN Act notices in January 2018, involving roughly 44,084 workers — climbing above December and up 77% versus January 2017. Filings came from 43 states and territories, with an average of 103 workers per notice.

Top States by Workers Affected

California led the nation with 7,268 workers affected across 71 notices , followed by New York (3,461 workers) and Texas (3,082 workers) .

Industry Breakdown

The Retail sector dominated layoff filings with 14,122 workers across 136 notices. Meanwhile, Manufacturing reported 8,837 workers.

Layoff Type Analysis

Closures accounted for 39% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.

Largest Layoffs

The biggest impact was at Affinity Medical Center in Massillon, Ohio, reporting 692 affected workers. Serco followed with 660 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 Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.

This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in January 2018. 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.