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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Work Stoppages > Publications > Factsheets

Different Ways to Measure a Work Stoppage

In 2023, the BLS reported 33 major work stoppages beginning in the year, and 35 stoppages in effect. During the year, there were 458,900 workers idled from stoppages that began and 461,700 workers idled from stoppages in effect with 16,673,000 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 January 2023 there was one stoppage beginning in this period, but there were three in effect. 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, 2023
Month	Beginning	In effect
January	1	3
February	0	0
March	2	2
April	2	3
May	3	4
June	5	8
July	2	6
August	2	6
September	2	5
October	5	9
November	5	10
December	4	7
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 2023, October had the largest number of workers impacted with 299,000 workers involved with stoppages in effect during the month.

Chart 2 data table

Chart 2. Number of workers (in 1,000s) involved in all work stoppages beginning and in effect, 2023
Month	Beginning	In effect
January	7.0	9.8
February	0.0	0.0
March	67.3	67.3
April	10.2	12.5
May	16.2	18.5
June	13.6	29.1
July	175.0	196.2
August	12.7	187.9
September	26.4	199.6
October	110.9	299.0
November	13.1	183.6
December	6.5	10.9
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 2023 lasting a week or less. In 2023, there were 5 stoppages that all lasted 1 day each. The longest work stoppage began in 2022 and lasted 180 days before ending in January 2023.

Chart 3 data table

Table 3. Number of stoppages in effect by number of workdays, 2023
Number of workdays	Number of stoppages
1-5	19
6-10	4
11-15	1
16-20	1
21-25	0
26-30	1
31+	9
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 2023, there were 16,673,000 days of idleness. The Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists strike against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers in 2023 resulted in 13,120,000 days idled alone.

Table 4. Days of idleness (in 1,000s) from all work stoppages in effect in the period, 2014-2023
Year	Days of idleness (in 1,000s)
2014	200.2
2015	740.0
2016	1,543.4
2017	439.8
2018	2,815.4
2019	3,244.3
2020	965.7
2021	1,551.9
2022	2,194.5
2023	16,673.0
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Major Work Stoppages Program

Days idled can also be expressed as a percentage of total estimated working time in a given period. In 2023, days of idleness accounted for 0.05 percent of total estimated working time.

You can find the days of idleness in effect and as a percentage of total working time in the WSP database, as well as the Detailed Monthly Tables.