This is the final report in a series issued to assist Congress in assessing the problems of worker dislocation and employer practices related to advance notice and assistance provided to workers. A national survey of 2,600 business establishments was conducted to determine: (1) the extent of business closures and permanent layoffs between January 1983 and December 1984; (2) the length of advance notice provided to affected workers; and (3) the assistance offered to dislocated workers by their employers. The study found that in 1983 and 1984, closures and permanent layoffs at about 16,200 establishments having 50 or more employees resulted in the dislocation of 1.3 million workers. Sixty percent of the closures and layoffs occurred in the manufacturing sector, and one-third of the closures and layoffs occurred in industries adversely affected by foreign competition. However, a quarter million workers were also dislocated from the fast-growing service sector. Few employers provided advance notice adequate to establish reemployment assistance programs; the median length of notice provided to workers was seven days. About one-third of establishments provided no notice before employment was terminated. About one in seven employers offered workers a comprehensive assistance package composed of the most frequently cited worker assistance measures--income maintenance, continued health insurance coverage, counseling, and job search assistance, but only 5 percent combined such assistance with more than 30 days' advance notice. The proposals pending before the Congress would expand assistance to dislocated workers. Seven appendices include: (1) Methodology and Sampling; (2) Analysis of Dun and Bradstreet Database Comparison; (3) Comparison of GAO and BLS Dislocated Worker Estimates; (4) List of Specific Industries within the Manufacturing, Trade, Service, and Other Industrial Sectors; (5) Definition of High Technology Industries; (6)) List of States in Nine Regions; and (7) Tables Supporting Bar Graphs in Report Text and Supplementary Tables. (KC)