Year-to-date layoffs are at their highest level since 2020, according to new Challenger data.
New data show that while employers handed out fewer pink slips in September than in August—when the number was at a five-month high—layoffs were up significantly compared to a year ago.
According to recruitment firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, U.S.-based employers announced nearly 73,000 job cuts in September. While this was down by 4 percent from the previous month’s 75,891, the layoffs were up by 53 percent from last year.
In the first nine months of 2024, personnel reductions rose by 0.8 percent year-over-year, to 609,242, surpassing in September the prior year’s running tally for the first time this year. This is the highest level since 2020, when more than 2 million layoffs were announced between January and September.
Sizable portions of the year-to-date layoffs were centered in technology (116,858), entertainment and leisure (31,054), education (25,285), transportation (25,263), and manufacturing (19,794). These numbers have risen substantially from the same span in 2023.
The Challenger report highlighted cost-cutting, business closures, and artificial intelligence as the top reasons for job cuts.
“We’re at an inflection point now, where the labor market could stall or tighten,” said Andrew Challenger, the firm’s senior vice president. “Layoff announcements have risen over last year, and job openings are flat.”
So far this year, employers have announced plans to hire close to 484,000 positions, down by 33 percent from 2023. Researchers say this is the lowest year-to-date hiring data since 2011.
Labor market conditions could be stimulated in the coming months as the Federal Reserve has cut interest rates, and consumer spending is expected to rise, Challenger said.
That said, layoffs continue to hit the headlines.
This past summer, various businesses laid off a considerable number of workers. Intel, for example, terminated 15,000 employees. Cisco let go of 56,000 personnel, Intuit trimmed payrolls by 1,800, and IBM fired 1,000 staff members.
Snapshot of US Jobs Arena
The U.S. labor market has stalled, with employers neither hiring nor firing at immense scales, said Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank.
By Andrew Moran
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