US Layoffs — January 2023
The US labor market showed signs of rising strain as employers posted 515 WARN Act notices in January 2023, affecting an estimated 52,892 workers — reflecting a significant uptick compared to December and up 236% versus January 2022. Filings came from 35 states and territories, with an average of 103 workers per notice.
Top States by Workers Affected
| State | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| California | 280 | 14,156 |
| Connecticut | 14 | 10,734 |
| Texas | 17 | 3,753 |
| Washington | 6 | 3,486 |
| Nevada | 14 | 2,697 |
| New Jersey | 19 | 2,669 |
| Illinois | 8 | 1,776 |
| Pennsylvania | 9 | 1,271 |
| Michigan | 8 | 1,253 |
| Massachusetts | 4 | 1,180 |
| Florida | 19 | 1,157 |
| Georgia | 13 | 1,096 |
| Colorado | 6 | 1,018 |
| Wisconsin | 20 | 852 |
| Arizona | 7 | 809 |
| Ohio | 11 | 739 |
| Kentucky | 6 | 723 |
| Alabama | 4 | 568 |
| Minnesota | 6 | 410 |
| South Carolina | 8 | 375 |
| North Carolina | 4 | 302 |
| Virginia | 4 | 280 |
| Hawaii | 1 | 237 |
| Maryland | 4 | 221 |
| Idaho | 3 | 177 |
| West Virginia | 2 | 162 |
| Kansas | 3 | 154 |
| Indiana | 3 | 152 |
| Oregon | 2 | 108 |
| Iowa | 2 | 107 |
| Mississippi | 2 | 89 |
| Missouri | 2 | 86 |
| Vermont | 1 | 76 |
| Utah | 1 | 16 |
| New Mexico | 2 | 3 |
California led the nation with 14,156 workers affected across 280 notices , followed by Connecticut (10,734 workers) and Texas (3,753 workers) .
Industry Breakdown
| Industry | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Retail | 33 | 14,823 |
| Manufacturing | 100 | 8,091 |
| Healthcare | 90 | 7,213 |
| Information & Technology | 91 | 7,017 |
| Transportation | 25 | 3,087 |
| Professional Services | 16 | 1,986 |
| Finance & Insurance | 20 | 1,698 |
| Accommodation & Food | 9 | 1,007 |
| Wholesale Trade | 12 | 671 |
| Construction | 1 | 666 |
The Retail sector saw the heaviest impact with 14,823 workers across 33 notices. On a related front, Manufacturing reported 8,091 workers.
Layoff Type Analysis
| Type | Notices | Workers |
|---|---|---|
| Layoff | 248 | 17,363 |
| Closure | 123 | 11,103 |
Closures accounted for 21% of all affected workers nationally, with the majority of events being layoffs rather than full closures.
Largest Layoffs
| Company | Location | Workers | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Davids Bridal | Conshohocken, Connecticut | 9,248 | |
| Amazon | Seattle, Washington | 2,300 | Layoff |
| Desert Springs Hospital DBA Desert Springs Medical Group | Las Vegas, Nevada | 970 | Closure |
| Desert Springs Medical Group Las Vegas | Clark, Nevada | 970 | Closure |
| Genpact | Richardson, Texas | 964 | |
| Wayfair | Boston, Massachusetts | 932 | |
| Microsoft | Redmond, Washington | 878 | Layoff |
| Ryder | Austin, Texas | 801 | |
| Madera Community Hospital | California | 687 | Layoff |
| Wanzek Construction | Denver, Colorado | 666 |
The largest notice was filed by Davids Bridal in Conshohocken, Connecticut, reporting 9,248 affected workers. Amazon followed with 2,300 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 Retail sector warrants close attention heading into the next period.
This report covers all WARN Act filings with notice dates in January 2023. 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.