Chart

Workers in Washington layoff notices, farms versus all other employers

Workers covered by layoff and closure notices filed with Washington's Employment Security Department, by year received, 2019 to November 2, 2026, split into farms and orchards and all other employers.

Credit: FactHub Research Team; data from the Washington Employment Security Department WARN database

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Stacked bar chart of workers in Washington layoff notices by year, 2019 to 2026. 2020 is highest at 46,824. 2023 is 21,466. 2025 is 31,257, of which 13,089 at farms and orchards, and 2026 through November 2 is 28,731, of which 10,821 at farms. Farm notices are near zero before 2025. — Workers in notices from all other employers: 7,538 in 2019, 46,824 in 2020, 3,108 in 2021, 5,140 in 2022, 21,335 in 2023, 11,850 in 2024, 18,168 in 2025 and 17,910 in 2026 through November 2. Farms and orchards: 2,513 in 2019, under 600 a year from 2020 to 2024, 13,089 in 2025 and 10,821 in 2026. Washington's own notice law took effect in July 2025.

What this chart asks

How large are recent layoff notices, and how much of the rise is farm layoffs filed under the state's 2025 notice law?

Why it is shown this way

Stacked bars show the yearly total and how much of it is farms and orchards.
Year is ordinal so the partial 2026 bar keeps its own labeled slot.

Chart annotations

These markers provide relevant context for interpreting the chart. Their timing or position does not, by itself, establish causation.

State notice law takes effect July 27, 2025: 2025
Washington's own law covers more employers and layoffs than the federal WARN Act.

Data and accessibility

Download chart data · Open accessible table · Download PNG · Download SVG

Dataset wa-big-employers-business-counts, analysis warn-by-group

Sources

This chart draws on the sources of the dataset versions it visualizes.

Washington's big employers and business counts, 2019-2026

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, EDGAR submissions API Business address and latest annual report (Form 10-K) for each company, from https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK##########.json
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Addresses are what each company reports to the SEC on its filings. The SEC has no stake in where companies locate.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW establishment size data First-quarter counts of private worksites with 1,000 or more employees and their March employment, 2019-2026 (same file pattern for each year)
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Built from unemployment-insurance tax reports that nearly all employers file each quarter. Washington's data come from the state Employment Security Department.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, QCEW series ENU5300020510, ENUUS00020510, ENU5300010510, ENUUS00010510 Private-sector establishment counts and employment, Washington and U.S.
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Same unemployment-insurance records as the size data. Establishment counts depend on how employers' reporting units are recorded.
Washington Employment Security Department, WARN layoff and closure database Every layoff and closure notice in the database, June 2018 to November 2, 2026
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public record (Washington state government). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Notices are filed by employers under the federal WARN Act and, from July 27, 2025, Washington's own notice law. ESD lists them by the date it receives them. The first 15 rows of the copy matched the live table on November 3, 2026.
Washington State Legislature, RCW 49.45.010 Definitions of covered employer and mass layoff in Washington's notice law (2025 c 277)
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public record (Washington state government). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Official statute text from the Code Reviser.
Washington Employment Security Department Date the state notice law took effect
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public record (Washington state government). Permitted

Reliability: Government. The agency that administers the notice law and keeps the database.
29 U.S. Code 2101 (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School) Federal WARN Act definitions of employer and mass layoff
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain statute text. Permitted

Reliability: Academic. Cornell's copy of the U.S. Code text.
Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics via FRED, BAHBATOTALNSAWA Monthly high-propensity business applications, Washington, not seasonally adjusted
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Census counts applications for federal employer ID numbers and flags those likely to become employers. FRED republishes the series unchanged.
Census Bureau Business Formation Statistics via FRED, BAHBATOTALNSAUS Monthly high-propensity business applications, United States, not seasonally adjusted
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Same Census program as the Washington series.
FRED, resident population WAPOP (Census) and B230RC0A052NBEA (BEA) Annual population of Washington and the U.S. (U.S. series https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/B230RC0A052NBEA), used for per-person rates
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public domain (U.S. government work). Permitted

Reliability: Government. Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis population estimates.
Washington Employment Security Department, Monthly Employment Report charts workbook, September 2026 Over-the-year job change by industry, September 2025 to September 2026 (sheet 'Industry employment OTY, nsa', updated October 14, 2026)
Retrieved November 3, 2026. Public record (Washington state government). Permitted

Reliability: Government. ESD's monthly survey-based estimates (Current Employment Statistics), revised when benchmarked to tax records.
Deseret News Brian Heywood's statement on losing businesses
Retrieved November 3, 2026. All rights reserved (quoted under fair use). Link only; short quotation

Reliability: News report. News report by Emily Walker quoting Heywood directly.
Washington Policy Center Commentary claiming a business exodus, May 28, 2026
Retrieved November 3, 2026. All rights reserved (quoted under fair use). Link only; short quotation

Reliability: Advocacy group. Has a stake in this finding. A Washington think tank that argues for lower taxes and less regulation. The piece is by its director of small business policy.
Southern Business & Development Avalara headquarters now Durham, June 24, 2024
Retrieved November 3, 2026. All rights reserved. Link only

Reliability: News report. Economic-development trade publication quoting the company.
Trade & Industry Development Starbucks Nashville office, April 22, 2026
Retrieved November 3, 2026. All rights reserved. Link only

Reliability: News report. Economic-development trade publication reporting the Tennessee announcement.
KIRO 7 Columbia Bank executive office in Arizona, October 2026
Retrieved November 3, 2026. All rights reserved. Link only

Reliability: News report. Local TV news report summarizing the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Limitations

Not comparable before and after July 27, 2025, when Washington's own notice law began covering employers with 50 or more workers and layoffs counted statewide.
2026 runs January 1 to November 2.
Farm employers are flagged by name; growers with generic names, such as Borton & Sons, are counted as other employers.
Notices are planned layoffs, not confirmed job losses; 2023 includes one nationwide David's Bridal notice for 9,266 workers.

Articles and datasets using this chart

Article Washington's business climate is slipping, though big employers stay.

Version details

The exact citing versions, and the version of this chart each cites.

Article wa-big-employers-not-leaving — version 4 (published) cites version 1
Article wa-big-employers-not-leaving — version 3 (published) cites version 1
Article wa-big-employers-not-leaving — version 2 (published) cites version 1

Node: chart:wa-layoff-notices-by-year:1