Job Cuts in January Increased Month-Over-Month and Year-Over-Year

According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) Job Cuts Report released today (2-2-23), US-based employers announced 102,943 job cuts in January, a 136% increase from the 43,651 announced job cuts in December. It is up 440.0% from the 19,064 job cuts announced in January 2022.

CG&C notes that the January 2023 total is the highest January total since 2009, when 241,749 were announced. It is the highest monthly total since September 2020, when 118,804 job cuts were reported.

The technology sector announced the most cuts in January, cutting 41,829, or 41%, of all announcements for the month. Retailers announced the second-most cuts in January with 13,000. Financial firms cut 10,603 positions in January 2023, up 1,423% from the 696 cuts announced in January 2022. The real estate industry cut 2,191 jobs last month, up 1,314% from the 155 cuts announced in December 2022.

In January, employers announced plans to hire 32,764 workers, primarily in the entertainment/leisure sector. This is down 58% from January 2022—when employers announced their plans to fill 77,630 positions—and down 37% from the 51,693 new jobs employers announced in December 2022.