US Layoffs — November 1998

The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 57 WARN Act notices in November 1998, affecting an estimated 9,624 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to October and up 660% versus November 1997. Filings came from 5 states and territories, with an average of 169 workers per notice.

Top States by Workers Affected

Florida led the nation with 2,892 workers affected across 24 notices , followed by Kansas (1,965 workers) and Alabama (1,964 workers) .

Industry Breakdown

The Manufacturing sector saw the heaviest impact with 5,396 workers across 26 notices. On a related front, Accommodation & Food reported 1,179 workers.

Layoff Type Analysis

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

Largest Layoffs

The largest notice was filed by Reynolds Metals in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, reporting 1,600 affected workers. Boeing followed with 407 workers.

Trend & Outlook

This marks the third consecutive month of rising layoff activity.

The trends suggest 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 November 1998. 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.