Layoff Mentions per Call (Discourse)

## What this measures

Mean count of layoff / RIF / headcount-reduction / restructuring mentions per document, trailing 90 days.

## Why it matters

Leads the WARN notices and the jobs report. Feeds The Hesitation Index.

## How to read it

A rise means management is discussing workforce reductions more frequently in earnings calls and investor communications. A fall means those discussions are becoming less common. Compare the current level to prior peaks to gauge whether layoff talk is routine or elevated.

## What it does not say

This counts mentions, not actual layoffs or the number of jobs affected. A single firm may mention layoffs repeatedly, and some reductions proceed without public discussion.

## Source

Palanor extracts and codes language from public company documents including earnings call transcripts. The series aggregates mention frequency across the trailing 90-day window.

## Revision — 2026-09-26

Universe updated to current S&P 500 constituents (8 out, 3 in). Out: Builders FirstSource, Molson Coors and The Trade Desk, which left the index on 21 September 2026; Electronic Arts, which was taken private and left on 5 August 2026; and MongoDB, Cloudflare, Snowflake and Zoom, which were never members and had been included in error since May 2026. In: Bloom Energy, Everpure and Illumina, which joined on 21 September 2026. Membership now comes from a dated constituent list refreshed monthly. The corrected list applies from 26 September 2026. Readings before that date are unchanged.