Private Sector Job Cuts Decline Month-Over-Month but Increase Year-Over-Year in September

According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) Job Cuts Report released Thursday (10-5-23), US-based employers announced 47,457 job cuts in September. This is down 37% from the 75,151 job cuts announced in August; however, this is 58% higher than the 29,989 job cuts announced in September 2022.

In Q3, employers announced 146,305 job cuts, a 92% increase from the 76,284 cuts announced in 2022Q3. However, that is down 22% from the 187,793 cuts announced in Q2.

CG&C notes that the drop in September’s job cut totals marks the eighth time this year when cuts were higher than the corresponding month a year earlier. Between January 1st and September 30th, employers have announced plans to cut 604,514 jobs, an increase of 198% from the 209,495 cuts announced during the same period last year. CG&C says it is the highest January–September total since 2020 (2,082,262 cuts). With the exception of 2020, it is the highest January–September total since 2009 (1,136,908 cuts).

CG&C reports that employers announced plans to add 590,353 positions in September. Of which, 552,800 were seasonal positions for the upcoming holiday season. So far this year, employers have announced plans to hire 726,333 employees—down 38% from the 1,163,088 recorded through September 2022 and the fewest year-to-date hiring plans since 2016, when 588,979 were announced through the third quarter.