Job Cuts Increased, Hiring Decreased in April 2022

According to the latest Job Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, U.S.-based employers announced 24,286 cuts in April 2022. This is a 14% increase from the 21,387 cuts announced in March 2022, and it is up 6% year-over-year from the 22,913 cuts announced in April 2021.

So far this year, employers announced plans to cut 79,982 job cuts, down -52% from the 167,599 cuts announced through the same period in 2021. It is the lowest recorded January–April total since Challenger began tracking monthly job cut announcements in 1993.

In April, U.S. employers announced their plans to hire 88,662; this is down -16% from the 105,224 hiring plans in March but up 16% from the 76,345 announced in the same month last year. Hiring plans are up 24% from the 392,578 announced in the first four months of 2021 with 486,603.

In a statement prepared to accompany the release of the January report, Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., said, “Job cut plans appear to be on the rise, particularly as companies assess market conditions, inflationary risks, and capital spending. Despite this, job openings are still at record highs. Workers who are being cut will have lots of opportunities and will likely land quickly.”