November 5 Is the Quietest Near-Term Layoff Week: 3,302 Workers Scheduled

The layoff calendar has a breather coming. The week labeled November 5 has 3,302 workers with scheduled layoff effective dates in the Layoff Atlas registry — the smallest weekly total among the next four weeks, and less than 40 percent of the heaviest upcoming week.

That makes the first full week of November a useful pause in an otherwise heavy stretch. It does not mean layoffs stop. It means the effective dates already on file cluster less densely in that week than in the weeks around it.

A sharp dip, then a rebound

The shape of the next six weeks tells the story. The week labeled October 29 — the current week — carries 8,520 workers. The November 5 week then drops to 3,302, a fall of about 61 percent from the current week. The week after that, labeled November 12, jumps back up to 7,472, more than double the November 5 figure.

Here is the full six-week outlook, by reported workers with effective dates in each week:

• October 29: 8,520 workers
• November 5: 3,302 workers
• November 12: 7,472 workers
• November 19: 8,412 workers
• November 26: 5,819 workers
• December 3: 1,670 workers

The six-week total is 35,195 workers. November 5 accounts for about 9 percent of that total. Only the December 3 week, at 1,670 workers, is lighter — and that week sits more than a month out, where fewer effective dates have been filed so far.

The pattern matters because effective-date totals move as new notices arrive. A quiet week today can fill in over the coming days if employers file notices with effective dates in that window. The November 5 figure is a snapshot of what is on file now, not a final count.

Why a quiet week still deserves attention

A low week is easy to misread as good news. Three cautions apply.

First, these are reported plans, not confirmed job losses. WARN notices are advance notifications of qualifying mass layoffs and plant closures, filed with state labor agencies. Some planned cuts shrink, shift dates, or never happen; others grow. The registry tracks what employers reported, not verified outcomes.

Second, coverage is partial. Reporting rules and publication practices vary by state, and some states publish little or nothing. A week can look quiet partly because filings from some states have not reached the registry yet. Missing coverage is not the same as zero layoffs.

Third, the quiet week sits between two heavy ones. Workers, job counselors, and local agencies planning around the calendar should read November 5 in context: the weeks on either side carry roughly two to two-and-a-half times as many scheduled workers. Support services that staff up for the current week and the November 12 and November 19 weeks should not mistake the dip for the end of the stretch.

The national picture behind the week

Across the 90-day notice window, the registry currently holds 664 notices covering 62,049 reported workers, with 30 counts unavailable. Worker totals exclude those unavailable counts, so the true reported figure is somewhat higher.

Washington and California still dominate the state ranking. Washington leads with 17,050 reported workers, followed by California with 13,335. Illinois (4,626), Texas (3,652), and Georgia (2,492) round out the top five. Together, the top two states account for about 49 percent of all reported workers in the window — a reminder that the national total is heavily shaped by a small number of large-state filings.

That concentration also explains why weekly totals swing so sharply. A single large filing landing in one week can move that week's total by thousands. The November 5 dip, conversely, may simply reflect that no very large filing currently has an effective date in that week.

What to watch next

Two things will determine whether November 5 stays quiet. The first is new filings: notices filed in the next few days with effective dates in early November would raise the week's total. The second is revisions: employers sometimes amend effective dates, moving workers between weeks.

For now, the calendar reads as follows: a heavy current week, a breather in the week of November 5, then a climb back through November 12 toward the heaviest fully upcoming week, November 19, at 8,412 workers. Anyone tracking the fall layoff wave should treat the November 5 lull as a gap between peaks — worth noting, and worth re-checking as new notices land.

Data source: Layoff Atlas