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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Work Stoppages > Publications > Factsheets

Different Ways to Measure a Work Stoppage

In 2024, the BLS reported 31 major work stoppages beginning in the year, and same number of stoppages in effect in the year. During the year, there were 271,500 workers idled from stoppages that began in 2024 with 3,364,100 days of idleness. There are many different ways to measure a work stoppage and each measure can tell you something new.

Number of work stoppages

One work stoppage could last a single day or could last for multiple months. Therefore, it is important to designate how many work stoppages began in a month compared to how many were in effect for a month. For example, in June 2024 there was one stoppage beginning in this period, but there were four in effect. In 2024, there was the same number of stoppages beginning as in effect but that is not always the case. For example in 2023, there were 33 work stoppages beginning in the year but 35 in effect in the year. Two stoppages that began in 2022 carried over into 2023.

Chart 1 data table

Table 1. Number of work stoppages beginning and in effect in the period, 2024
Month	Beginning	In effect
January	1	1
February	0	0
March	3	3
April	2	3
May	3	5
June	1	4
July	2	3
August	5	7
September	4	9
October	3	8
November	5	9
December	2	6
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

You can find the number of work stoppages beginning and in effect in the WSP database, as well as the Detailed Monthly Tables.

Number of workers

The number of workers accounts for all workers who are directly involved with the strike or lockout, as well as those idled for related reasons, like their facility being closed down during the stoppage. In 2024, October had the largest number of workers impacted with 105,100 workers involved with stoppages in effect during the month.

Chart 2 data table

Table 2. Number of workers (in 1,000s) involved in all work stoppages beginning and in effect, 2024
Month	Beginning	In effect
January	29	29
February	0	0
March	8.1	8.1
April	4.8	7.8
May	21.2	25.2
June	19	37.1
July	4.2	7.2
August	24.5	30.1
September	48.9	76.5
October	56.4	105.1
November	42.9	83.4
December	12.5	21.7
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

The Work Stoppages Program only records stoppages that involve at least 1,000 workers. You can find the number of workers idled beginning and in effect in the WSP database, as well as the Detailed Monthly Tables.

Number of workdays

The work stoppages program identifies the beginning and ending date of each work stoppage so that the number of lost workdays can be calculated. Shorter work stoppages tend to be more popular with over half of the work stoppages recorded in 2024 lasting a week or less. In 2023, there were 5 stoppages that all lasted 1 day each. The longest work stoppage began in March and lasted 140 days before ending in October.

Chart 3 data table

Table 3. Number of stoppages in effect by number of wordays, 2024
Number of workdays	Number of stoppages
1-5	19
6-10	1
11-15	2
16-20	3
21-25	0
26-30	0
31+	6
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

The Work Stoppages Program does not include federal holidays or weekends when calculating the number of workdays. You can find the beginning and ending dates, as well as the number of workdays for each recorded work stoppage on the Detailed Monthly Tables.

Days of Idleness

When a worker is scheduled to work but does not due to a work stoppage, that results in a lost work day. If two workers do not work, that equates to two lost workdays. Days of idleness refers to the total number of lost workdays from a work stoppage. For example, a strike that lasts 1 day and involves 4,000 workers would result in 4,000 days idled. In 2024, there were 3,364,100 days of idleness. The International Association of Machinists strike against Boeing in 2024 resulted in 1,221,000 days idled alone.

Table 4. Days of idleness (in 1,000s) from all work stoppages in effect in the period, 2014-2024
Year	Days of idleness (in 1,000s)
2014	200.2
2015	740.0
2016	1543.4
2017	439.8
2018	2815.4
2019	3244.3
2020	965.7
2021	1551.9
2022	2194.5
2023	16673.0
2024	3364.1
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

You can find the days of idleness in effect in the WSP database, as well as the Detailed Monthly Tables.