Noticed · Nov 3, 2026 · Issue 04
Day 366.
A year after one pink slip, our weekly newsletter starts over as Noticed. It's for anyone near a layoff, with one small thing to do this week.
with The Layoff Wire, from PinkSlipped
Photo: PinkSlipped · New York, October 2026
From the Editor
What came next
365 days ago I recorded a selfie video in my office the morning I was laid off. "All right, here we go. All good things have to come to an end." I didn't know what would come next.
What came next was mostly people. Former colleagues who sent resources before I asked for them. Strangers who told me how they got through theirs. That community is what became PinkSlipped.
A year taught me this: the hardest part of a layoff isn't the job search. It's the first few weeks, when the deadlines are real and nobody hands you the list. Health coverage. Severance. Unemployment. The conversation at the kitchen table.
So this newsletter is changing, and it has a new name. The Layoff Wire was a weekly read for reporters. Starting today it's Noticed, and it's for anyone near a layoff: the person going through one, and the people who love them. The Layoff Wire lives inside it, with the numbers dated and sourced. You'll also get one small thing to do this week, the stories of people who've been there, and the tools we built because we needed them.
Thank you to everyone who stood behind me on day one. You'll be there on day 366, too.
Jarrett Reed, co-founder
The Picture
365, in two minutes
From Day 0 in an empty office to a New York subway platform on Day 354. The one-year film, in Jarrett's own footage.
The Number
21%
of US job cuts announced January through September 2026 cited AI: 120,136 of 573,195. In 2025 it was 4.5%.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas ↗ · As of Oct 1, 2026
One Small Thing
Find your coverage door before Dec 15
If it's you
Run the Insurance Check to see which coverage doors are still open. HealthCare.gov opened for 2027 on Nov 1; enroll by Dec 15 for coverage that starts Jan 1.
If it's someone you love
Skip "How's the search going?" Ask "What's the plan for health insurance?" and offer to sit with them while they run the check.
InsuranceNewsNet, Oct 4, 2026 ↗
Open the Insurance CheckUndercurrents
Three things we're seeing
- 01
Nobody's getting fired. Nobody's getting hired.
Weekly jobless claims sat near 197,000, a historically low level, while the economy added a net 29,000 jobs in September.
Why it matters: Low layoff numbers don't mean an easy search. If you're out, plan for a longer runway than the headlines suggest.
- 02
Congress is sketching an AI safety net.
Bills introduced in both chambers would extend unemployment benefits to 52 weeks when unemployment hits 8.5%, tax AI to fund retraining, and require large employers to report AI-related layoffs. None has passed.
Why it matters: The disclosure idea is moving from the states (California's SB 951 starts Jan 1) toward Washington.
- 03
Silence is the norm now.
81% of job seekers say they were rejected in the past year without anyone ever contacting them, in a Greenhouse survey of more than 2,800 people in five countries.
Why it matters: If you're hearing nothing back, it's very likely not you.
Passing the Mic
"It turns out I can't break anything. I could only grow."
A retail brand marketer gets laid off into a job market rewritten by machines. The loudest advice was to use AI. Michael Abata refused, until he found the one use nobody was selling: a private sounding board.
Michael Abata is a retail brand experience marketer with twenty years of building brands, partnerships and retail experiences.
From the Library
The Coverage You Lost Has More Than One Door
Your therapist may have been in the benefits packet too. Our new Field Note covers what might still be open, where to look, and what to ask. It's new this week, and it pairs with this week's One Small Thing.
Worth Your Time
Three reads from this week
- 01
42% of recent college grads are in jobs that don't need a degree.
From the New York Fed's tracker of recent graduates, via Fortune. For the parent of a new grad, and the grad.
- 02
What if an AI bubble bursts, and that speeds up AI job losses?
A thought experiment from Planet Money.
- 03
Losing your job after 50 could derail your career.
Worth reading if you're over 50 and starting over, or love someone who is.
PS for the Win
Runway Check
Runway, floor, cushion. Three numbers that turn "I'm fine, I think" into a plan. It's free. Send it to someone who just got the news.
The Layoff Wire
This week's numbers, dated and sourced.
PinkSlipped's Layoff Wire
As of Oct 27, 2026: 8,032 WARN notices from 40 states and DC, covering 760,008 workers.
Where the workers are
Workers in WARN notices dated Jul 29 – Oct 27, 2026
- CA16,491
- IL5,827
- TX3,981
- WA3,537
- OH2,499
- MD2,433
The Signal
21%
of US job cuts announced Jan–Sep 2026 cited AI: 120,136 of 573,195. In 2025 it was 4.5%.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, via PinkSlipped's Layoff Wire
This week's read
Financial services
AI-Adjacent3,500 jobs · Oct 23, 2026
Described as part of an AI-driven workforce restructuring.
Regional banking
Business Cycle637 jobs · Oct 16, 2026
No AI language in the employer’s stated reasons.
Airline
Business Cycle643 jobs · Oct 16, 2026
No AI language in the employer’s stated reasons.
Largest new notices
WARN notices dated Oct 20 – Oct 26, 2026
- Ice cream manufacturingBakersfield, CA380layoff
- E-commerce marketplaceSan Jose, CA229layoff
- Bicycle manufacturingWilton, CT143layoff
- Newspaper publishingNorthwood/Wood, OH116layoff
- Riverboat entertainmentDavidson County, TN114layoff
- Beverage bottlingKnox County, TN112layoff
Weekly totals are left off because WARN notices reach states, and the ledger, days to weeks late.
PinkSlipped's Policy Radar
Informational only, not legal advice.
Colorado’s final ADMT rules are due before Jan 1.
Comments and the hearing closed Oct 26; final rules must be adopted before the ADMT Act takes effect Jan 1, 2027.
Also this week
- CA
A quiet week after California’s September 30 signing surge.
- Federal
No new state bills were introduced and no new federal enforcement actions were taken.
Where the laws stand
Stages: Introduced → Committee → Passed → Signed → In effect. Coral marks where each stands now. Exit: how people are let go. Re-entry: how they get hired next.
- Both
CT · SB 5
AI Responsibility & Transparency Act
In effect
Stage 5 of 5: In effect - Re-entry
IL · HB 3773
AI Employment Discrimination Act
In effect · no rules
Stage 5 of 5: In effect - Re-entry
NYC · Local Law 144
Automated Employment Decision Tools
In effect
Stage 5 of 5: In effect - Re-entry
MD · HB 1202
Maryland AI Employment Law
In effect
Stage 5 of 5: In effect - Re-entry
TX · HB 149
TRAIGA
In effect
Stage 5 of 5: In effect - Both
CA · SB 951
Worker Technological Displacement Act
Signed Sep 30
Stage 4 of 5: Signed - Both
CO · SB 26-189
ADMT Act
Signed
Stage 4 of 5: Signed - Exit
CA · SB 947
No Robo Bosses Act
Signed Sep 30
Stage 4 of 5: Signed
Dates to watch
Federal watch
The EEOC’s proposed rule to rescind EEO-1 reporting, published July 23, 2026, is not finalized.
Next update: Nov 2, 2026
Contribute
Write for Noticed
Been through a layoff, or helped someone through one? We publish first-person stories and expert pieces, largely as written, and you approve every word. Send us three lines: what happened, what you learned, and who it would help.
Email us your three lineshello@gotpinkslipped.com
How contributing works →If you're in one of this week's notices, the PinkSlipped Plan is free. Build my plan
Sources
- The Signal: Challenger, Gray & Christmas ↗
- CT · SB 5 ↗
- IL · HB 3773 ↗
- NYC · Local Law 144 ↗
- MD · HB 1202 ↗
- TX · HB 149 ↗
- CA · SB 951 ↗
- CO · SB 26-189 ↗
- CA · SB 947 ↗
- One Small Thing: InsuranceNewsNet, Oct 4, 2026 ↗
- Undercurrents · Marketplace, Oct 8, 2026 ↗
- Undercurrents · CBS News MoneyWatch, Oct 23, 2026 ↗
- Undercurrents · HR Dive, Oct 23, 2026 ↗
- Worth Your Time · Fortune, Oct 26, 2026 ↗
- Worth Your Time · NPR, Oct 20, 2026 ↗
- Worth Your Time · Business Insider, Oct 12, 2026 ↗
How to cite
According to PinkSlipped's Layoff Wire, which tracks WARN notices filed with state labor departments…
According to PinkSlipped's Policy Radar, which tracks state and federal AI employment laws…
Free to cite with attribution · press@gotpinkslipped.com
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