New York Layoffs — March 2020
Employers in New York posted 1416 WARN Act notices in March 2020, affecting an estimated 174,911 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to February and up 6947% versus March 2019. The average filing covered 124 workers, with 731 closures among the notices.
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Accommodation & Food | 345 | 46,376 |
| Arts & Entertainment | 47 | 9,875 |
| Healthcare | 45 | 6,022 |
| Retail | 18 | 2,317 |
| Manufacturing | 29 | 2,317 |
| Transportation | 11 | 1,752 |
| Education | 6 | 1,716 |
| Information & Technology | 8 | 1,000 |
The Accommodation & Food sector saw the heaviest impact with 46,376 workers across 345 notices. On a related front, Arts & Entertainment reported 9,875 workers.
Geographic Hotspots
| County | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 827 | 100,613 |
| Queens | 56 | 9,461 |
| Monroe | 24 | 7,561 |
| Kings | 74 | 6,163 |
| Suffolk | 61 | 6,016 |
New York bore the heaviest burden, accounting for 58% of all affected workers with 100,613 workers across 827 notices.
| City | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| New York | 826 | 101,481 |
| Brooklyn | 80 | 7,305 |
| Rochester | 22 | 7,180 |
| Buffalo | 21 | 4,387 |
| Albany | 21 | 3,450 |
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Temporary Closure | 657 | 82,909 |
| Temporary Layoff | 608 | 74,081 |
| Closure | 74 | 9,479 |
| Layoff | 75 | 7,999 |
The high proportion of closures (53% of affected workers) suggests structural shifts rather than temporary cutbacks in New York's labor market.
Largest Layoffs
The largest notice was filed by Metropolitan Opera Association, Inc. (Metropolitan Opera House) at its New York facility, reporting 2,279 affected workers. The YMCA of Greater Rochester (multiple sites) followed with 2,090 workers.
Trend & Outlook
After a dip last month, layoff activity has ticked back up.
The trends suggest mounting pressure on the New York labor market, with activity running above both recent and year-ago benchmarks. The Accommodation & Food sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This analysis is based on official WARN Act filings reported by New York. 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 New York WARN notices, browse layoffs by state, or download the full dataset.