How our calculators work

The Layoff Risk Calculator scores 18 weighted job-security factors across five areas — company health, your role's visibility, workplace signals, your personal situation, and company layoff history. Each factor contributes a set number of points (raw maximum of 161). Your industry applies a base multiplier (roughly 0.85×–1.20×). The final score is(your points ÷ 161) × industry multiplier × 100, clamped to 0–100, and mapped to a Low/Medium/High/Critical tier. It is a preparation prompt, not a prediction.

Severance estimates use common market conventions — typically a number of weeks of base pay per year of tenure — to produce a general range. Actual severance is set by your employer, your separation agreement, and any applicable policy or law; there is no guaranteed formula. The severance tax estimate treats a lump sum as supplemental wages and applies simplified withholding assumptions, which will differ from your actual tax outcome.

The COBRA vs Marketplace comparison estimates your COBRA cost as the full plan premium (employer + employee share) plus the allowed administrative fee of up to 2%, and compares it against Marketplace plan costs after any premium tax credit you may qualify for based on the income you enter. Real premiums, subsidy eligibility, and plan availability depend on your state, plan year, and household — always confirm on HealthCare.gov or your state exchange.

The Runway Calculator divides your available savings and expected income (such as severance and estimated unemployment) by your monthly expenses to estimate how many months your money lasts. It assumes steady monthly spending and does not model investment returns, taxes on withdrawals, or irregular expenses.

The Emergency Budget Calculator separates spending into essential and discretionary categories to show a leaner “survival” budget and how much runway trimming discretionary spend adds. Categories and defaults are illustrative starting points — your real budget depends on your household, location, and obligations.

Career pivot suggestions are built from publicly observable labor-market and job-posting trends and from the skills you enter. They are framed as general direction and exploration prompts, not predictions of hiring outcomes or salary guarantees.

The Job Application Tracker stores your entries in your own browser (local storage) by default. Your application data is not sent to LayoffNext unless a feature explicitly says so and you opt in. Clearing your browser data will remove locally stored entries.