How we source and verify.
A layoff site is only worth reading if the numbers are real. Here is where our data comes from, how often we re-check it, and what we do when we cannot verify something.
State unemployment data
Every benefit figure on a state page, the weekly maximum, the number of weeks, the appeal deadline, comes from that state's own official agency, and each page links the source. We do not average, estimate, or copy figures from other blogs. When a state has not published something clearly, we say so rather than guess. States recalculate rates on their own schedules, so we run a full verification sweep twice a year, in January and July, and confirm against the official source each time.
Company layoff records
Company pages are built from primary sources, WARN notices filed with state agencies, SEC filings, official company statements, union communications, and reporting from named outlets. Every specific claim links to where it came from. We describe what a company did in a specific past round, in the past tense, and we say plainly that past rounds do not bind future ones. If we cannot find at least a few properly sourced facts about a company, we do not publish a page for it.
The WARN filing tracker
Our WARN filing tracker aggregates public Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification filings, the advance layoff notices employers are required to file with states. The data flows from official state filings through a consolidated feed, and we de-duplicate and clean it before it appears. One honest limit worth repeating, we track a deliberately selected set of large employers, not every filing in the country, so the tracker is a window into layoff activity, not a complete national count. We label it that way everywhere it appears.
Articles
Every statistic in an article links to a primary source or gets cut. We do not write “studies show” without the study. Where guidance depends on facts we cannot know about you, your age, your state, your deadline, we say so rather than issue a blanket instruction that is only right for some readers.
What we are not
We are an independent site, not a law firm, an accountant, or a government agency, and we take no money from the companies or vendors we write about. General information is where we help. For advice about your specific situation, our disclaimer explains when to bring in a licensed professional.
Found an error?
Tell us. If a number is stale or a source has moved, we want to fix it, and a reader flagging it is often how we find out first. The contact page reaches us directly.