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Tracking Real Time Layoffs with SEC Filings: A Preliminary Investigation

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Abstract

We explore a new source of data on layoffs: timely 8-K filings with the Securities and and Exchange Commission. We develop measures of both the number of reported layoff events and the number of affected workers. These series are highly correlated with the business cycle and other layoff indicators. Linking firm-level reported layoff events with WARN notices suggests that 8-K filings are sometimes available before WARN notices, and preliminary regression results suggest our layoff series are useful for forecasting. We also document the industry composition of the data and specific areas where the industry shares diverge.

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  • Leland D. Crane & Emily Green & Molly Harnish & Will McClennan & Paul E. Soto & Betsy Vrankovich & Jacob Williams, 2024. "Tracking Real Time Layoffs with SEC Filings: A Preliminary Investigation," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2024-020, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2024-20
    DOI: 10.17016/FEDS.2024.020
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    1. Regis Barnichon & Christopher J. Nekarda, 2012. "The Ins and Outs of Forecasting Unemployment: Using Labor Force Flows to Forecast the Labor Market," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 43(2 (Fall)), pages 83-131.
    2. Pawel M. Krolikowski & Kurt G. Lunsford, 2024. "Advance layoff notices and aggregate job loss," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 462-480, April.
    3. Bodnaruk, Andriy & Loughran, Tim & McDonald, Bill, 2015. "Using 10-K Text to Gauge Financial Constraints," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(4), pages 623-646, August.
    4. Amir Sufi, 2009. "Bank Lines of Credit in Corporate Finance: An Empirical Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1057-1088, March.
    5. Amir Sufi, 2009. "Bank Lines of Credit in Corporate Finance: An Empirical Analysis," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1057-1088.
    6. Tim Loughran & Bill Mcdonald, 2011. "When Is a Liability Not a Liability? Textual Analysis, Dictionaries, and 10‐Ks," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(1), pages 35-65, February.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Forecasting; Labor markets; Large language models; Alternative data; Natural language processing; Layoffs;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • G28 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • M51 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Personnel Economics - - - Firm Employment Decisions; Promotions
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access

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