California Overtakes Washington: Two States Now Hold Nearly 60% of Reported Layoff Workers

America's reported layoffs are increasingly concentrated in two states. California now leads the national WARN count with 20,812 reported workers, passing Washington at 17,411. Together, the two states account for 38,223 of the 64,352 reported workers in Layoff Atlas's 90-day window — 59.4% of the national total.

That is a sharp change from just eleven days ago. On October 26, Washington led California, 17,073 to 14,224. Since then, California's reported total has risen by 6,588 workers — up 46% — while Washington's has risen by only 338. The national total actually fell over the same period, from 66,156 to 64,352 workers. In other words, the country as a whole is reporting fewer layoff workers, but California is reporting far more.

The flip, in numbers

The lead changed hands quickly. On November 2, California was already ahead by a narrow 354 workers (17,715 to 17,361). By November 6, the gap had widened to 3,401. California added roughly 3,100 reported workers in four days.

The concentration extends beyond the top two. The five hardest-hit states — California, Washington, Illinois (3,548), Texas (2,750), and Virginia (2,526) — together hold 47,047 reported workers, or 73.1% of the national total. The other 46 jurisdictions in the registry share the remaining 17,305 workers, just 26.9%.

Illinois and Texas, meanwhile, are moving in the opposite direction. Illinois has fallen from 4,626 reported workers on October 26 to 3,548 today, and Texas from 3,652 to 2,750. Virginia has moved into the top five at 2,526.

What is driving the concentration

Two forces are at work, and they are not the same thing.

First, reporting coverage differs by state. California's mini-WARN law covers smaller employers and more situations than the federal WARN Act, so more layoffs in California become public notices in the first place. A state with broader reporting rules will look larger in any WARN-based count, even if its underlying job market is no worse. Washington's total, meanwhile, is shaped by a small number of very large filings, including the Gebbers Farms filing affecting 3,445 workers and recent Amazon filings across its Washington sites.

Second, the 90-day window itself moves. As older notices age out of the window and new ones arrive, a state's total can swing by thousands of workers in a week without any change in the underlying economy. California's jump reflects new filings entering the window, not a single event.

That is why the concentration number should be read as a fact about the data, not a verdict on two state economies. These are reported plans, not confirmed job losses. A WARN notice records an employer's stated plan to lay off workers on a given date; some planned layoffs are reduced, delayed, or cancelled before they happen. And the registry covers 48 of 51 jurisdictions with imported records — missing source coverage is not zero layoffs.

What the weeks ahead show

The heaviest layoff week ahead remains the week of November 13, with 8,850 workers scheduled. The week of November 20 follows at 7,181, and the week of November 27 at 5,991. The current week, November 6, shows 2,847 workers, with December 4 at 1,897 and December 11 at 3,031. Across the six weeks, 29,797 workers are scheduled.

Whether California keeps its lead depends on what enters the window next. If the recent pace of California filings continues, the gap with Washington will widen further. If filings slow, the 90-day window will gradually pull California's total back down as older notices expire. The concentration is real, but it is not permanent — it is a snapshot of a moving window, and it will move again.

Data source: Layoff Atlas