Layoffs in 2026: what the government's own numbers show

How many layoffs there have been in 2026 so far

BLS counts layoffs in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), a monthly sample of about 21,000 businesses and government establishments. Layoffs and discharges are separations the employer starts. They include layoffs with no intent to rehire, firings for cause, and the end of short-term and seasonal jobs.[3]

The full-year figures follow BLS's own method: the sum of the 12 monthly levels, not seasonally adjusted. BLS printed the same 21.2 million for 2025 in its January 2026 release. The January to August totals sum those months the same way. The 2020 figures reflect the spring of the pandemic.[3][4][2]

These are counts, not rates, and payroll employment has grown since 2021, so a higher count can mean a similar share of workers. The seasonally adjusted rate is the fairer comparison. In August it was 1.0% in 2026, 0.9% to 1.1% in 2021 to 2024, and 1.2% in 2019.[6][3]

Seasonally adjusted, the monthly count in 2026 has ranged from 1.6 million to 1.9 million, a rate of 1.0% to 1.2%. The highest month was March, at 1,884,000. BLS released the August 2026 figures on September 29, 2026; they are preliminary, and BLS revises them the next month. It revises 5 years of data with its January data, published each March, most recently on March 13, 2026.[5][1][3][2]

What weekly unemployment claims show in October 2026

An unemployed person files an initial claim after leaving an employer, to ask for a decision on eligibility for state unemployment insurance (UI). The US Department of Labor (DOL) reported on October 22, 2026 an advance 194,000 initial claims, seasonally adjusted, for the week ending October 17. The 4-week average was 197,750, and the same week of 2025 had 231,000.[8]

Insured unemployment approximates the number of people claiming state UI benefits. Its advance figure was 1,728,000, seasonally adjusted, for the week ending October 10, 2026.[8]

DOL revises advance figures the next week, and notes that weekly claims are hard to seasonally adjust, so the series is volatile. Claims count applications, not layoffs. A worker who finds a new job quickly, or who is not eligible, may never file.[8]

Why private layoff trackers show different numbers

Private trackers count something else. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm, tallies the job cuts that US-based employers announce. An announcement states a plan, which can play out over months.[9]

JOLTS counts separations in the month they happen, at a sample of employers in every nonfarm industry. It also counts firings for cause and the end of seasonal jobs.[3]

What a WARN notice is and when your employer must send one

The WARN Act requires 60 days' written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. It covers businesses with 100 or more employees, not counting part-time employees. It also covers businesses with 100 or more employees who together work at least 4,000 hours a week, not counting overtime.[10][11]

The law counts 3 kinds of employment loss. One is a termination, other than a discharge for cause, a voluntary departure or a retirement. Another is a layoff of more than 6 months. The third is a cut of more than 50% in hours in each month of any 6-month period.[10]

A relocation or consolidation is not an employment loss for you if the employer offers a transfer with no more than a 6-month break. The new site must be within reasonable commuting distance. A farther site also rules out an employment loss, but only if you accept within 30 days. The 30 days run from the offer or from the closing or layoff, whichever is later.[10]

The notice goes to the employees' union representative or, where there is none, to each affected employee. It also goes to the chief elected official of the local government. And it goes to the state agency for rapid response to layoffs, which the law's heading calls the state dislocated worker unit.[11]

Notice can be shorter in 2 cases. A company closing a site may give less if it was seeking capital or business that would have kept the site open. It must also have believed in good faith that notice would have cost it that help. Any closing or mass layoff caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable may also get less.[11]

No notice is required when a natural disaster causes the closing or layoff. An employer that relies on these exceptions must give as much notice as is practicable, with a brief statement of the reason.[11]

DOL publishes guides to the WARN Act for workers and employers, but it does not enforce the law: the federal courts do.[12]

What the 2026 layoff numbers mean for you

Compare these separations with hiring and job search data for 2026. If your coverage ends, check the Marketplace enrollment windows.

BLS publishes September 2026 JOLTS data on November 3, 2026. DOL publishes initial claims each week.[1][8]