Private Sector Job Cuts Continued to Trend Higher in May
According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) Job Cuts Report released Thursday (6-1-23), US-based employers announced 80,089 job cuts in May, a 20% increase from the 66,995 job cuts reported in April. Year-over-year, cuts were 287% higher, with 20,712 job cuts announced in May 2022.
Between January 1st and May 31st, companies have announced plans to cut 417,500 jobs, a 315% increase from the 100,694 cuts announced in the same time period last year. According to CG&C, it is the highest January–May total since 2020, when 1,414,828 cuts were recorded. With the exception of 2020, it is the highest total for the first five months of the year since 2009, when 822,282 job cuts were tracked through May.
In May, employers announced plans to hire 7,884 workers—the lowest monthly total since November 2020, when 6,527 new positions were announced. So far this year, companies have announced plans to add 101,833 positions, down 83% from the 612,686 hires announced through May 2022.
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