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The US States with the Highest Layoff Rates

Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024

New research has revealed the states with the highest layoff rates, with Montana coming out on top. 

The study by business experts Upflip analyzed the latest available data on layoffs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to see which states had the highest layoff rates on average between October 2023 and January 2024. 

It found that Montana is the state with the highest layoff rates, with an average rate of 1.8% from the months studied. October 2023 saw the highest layoff rate, with 2.3%, and January 2024 saw the lowest, with 1.5%. 

Alaska takes second on the list, with a 4-month average layoff rate of 1.58%. The northwest state had its highest layoff rate in December 2023, with 2.1%, and its lowest in January 2024, with 1.2%. 
Coming in third place on the list is Idaho, which saw a 4-month average layoff rate of 1.43%. November and December 2023 had the joint highest layoff rate with 1.5%, and January 2024 had the lowest with 1.3%.  
Fourth place on the list goes to Maine, where the average layoff rate is 1.4%. While November and December 2023 and January 2024 had a layoff rate of 1.1%, the state’s layoff rate was as high as 2.3% in October 2023. 
Rounding out the top five is Wyoming, with the Mountain West state coming in with an average layoff rate of 1.38%. November 2023 saw the lowest layoff rate with 1.3%, with October 2023, December 2023, and January 2024 all sitting at 1.4%.  
The top ten states with the highest layoff rates 
Rank 
State 
Oct-23 
Nov-23 
Dec-23 
4 month average 
1 
Montana 
2.3% 
1.7% 
1.7% 
1.5% 
1.8% 
2 
Alaska 
1.5% 
1.5% 
2.1% 
1.2% 
1.58% 
3 
Idaho 
1.4% 
1.5% 
1.5% 
1.3% 
1.43% 
4 
Maine 
2.3% 
1.1% 
1.1% 
1.1% 
1.4% 
5 
Wyoming 
1.4% 
1.3% 
1.4% 
1.4% 
1.38% 
6 
Rhode Island 
1.8% 
1.2% 
1.2% 
1.2% 
1.35% 
7 
Nevada 
1.1% 
1.3% 
1.5% 
1.3% 
1.3% 
= 
Vermont 
1.6% 
1% 
1.3% 
1.3% 
1.3% 
= 
Delaware 
1.4% 
1.2% 
1% 
1.6% 
1.3% 
8 
Arizona 
1.2% 
1.4% 
1.3% 
1.2% 
1.28% 
9 
Colorado 
1.4% 
1.3% 
1.1% 
1.2% 
1.25% 
= 
Indiana 
1% 
1.3% 
1.6% 
1.1% 
1.25% 
= 
Louisiana 
1.4% 
1.1% 
1.2% 
1.3% 
1.25% 
10 
New Jersey 
1.9% 
0.9% 
0.9% 
1.2% 
1.23% 

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from Upflip said: “With mass layoffs making news headlines across the past several months, it’s clear that these are unusual circumstances for many industries, most notably in tech. Although many of these numbers seem like minimal cuts to each state’s workforce, many of their respective populations are small, which can cause populations to shrink even more if residents relocate for new lines of work.”