Washington and California Account for Nearly Half of All Reported Layoffs in Current WARN Data

Two states are carrying almost the entire weight of America's reported layoff plans right now. In the current 90-day WARN notice window, Washington and California together account for 31,897 of the 66,487 reported workers nationwide — 48 percent of the total. The other 46 jurisdictions with imported records split the remaining 52 percent.

The figures come from 721 WARN notices in the 90-day window, covering 66,487 reported workers. These are reported plans, not confirmed job losses: WARN notices are advance filings employers make before qualifying mass layoffs and plant closures, and the final headcount can differ from what was filed.

Washington leads on workers, from fewer, larger filings

Washington tops the national ranking with 16,855 reported workers in the 90-day window. What stands out is how concentrated that total is: Washington's imported archive shows just 127 notices so far in 2026, reporting 27,725 workers. That averages out to roughly 218 workers per notice — a small number of large filings rather than a broad scatter of small ones.

Over the last 365 days, Washington's archive contains 155 eligible official filings reporting 31,931 affected workers, and 45 notices currently carry future effective dates, meaning more Washington layoffs are already scheduled and on the calendar. Every one of Washington's 1,521 non-cancelled archive records is a direct government record, with zero attributed secondary records — this is a state whose layoff picture comes almost entirely from official filings.

California: high volume, still enormous

California sits just behind at 15,042 reported workers in the 90-day window, but its pattern looks very different from Washington's. California's 2026 archive holds 1,164 notices reporting 58,985 workers — roughly nine times as many notices as Washington, averaging about 51 workers per filing. The state's full archive is the largest in the registry: 17,592 non-cancelled notices reporting 1,450,812 workers, with 216 notices carrying future effective dates.

Over the last 365 days, California logged 1,463 eligible official filings reporting 72,301 affected workers. Like Washington, California's picture is built on official records — 17,533 direct government records against just 57 attributed secondary ones.

The gap to third place is wide

The two-state concentration becomes clearer when you look at what comes next. Illinois ranks third nationally with 4,626 reported workers — less than a third of California's total and barely more than a quarter of Washington's. Texas (3,784) and Ohio (3,180) round out the top five. Washington alone reports more affected workers than Illinois, Texas, and Ohio combined (11,590).

That skew is partly structural. WARN coverage is not a census of layoffs: reporting rules, enforcement, and the depth of each state's official records vary, and states with fuller official archives will naturally show larger numbers. Both Washington and California publish deep, directly connected official filing histories, which makes their totals more complete — and more comparable — than states where the registry leans on secondary records. A state's ranking reflects reporting depth as well as real layoff activity.

What the year-to-date numbers show

Zooming out to the full 2026 calendar year, the same two states dominate in different ways. California's 1,164 notices this year make it by far the most active filing state in sheer volume — 2025 saw 1,591 notices and 94,948 workers, so 2026 is running at a similar pace. Washington's 127 notices and 27,725 workers in 2026 compare with 132 notices and 31,257 workers in all of 2025, suggesting Washington's 2026 will land close to last year's level unless the final quarter surprises.

Both states have meaningful layoffs already scheduled: 45 Washington notices and 216 California notices carry future effective dates, feeding into the national calendar that shows 5,754 workers effective the week of October 26 and 6,568 the week of November 9.

Why this concentration matters

When nearly half of all reported layoff plans sit in two states, national headlines about "rising layoffs" can really be stories about Washington and California. Readers in the other 48 jurisdictions should weigh their own state's figures separately — and remember that every one of these numbers describes a reported plan, filed in advance, not a confirmed job loss.

Data source: Layoff Atlas