Private Sector Job Cuts Increase 3.0% Month-Over-Month in February
Job Cuts Jump in February 2024; YTD Cuts Down 8% Over Last Year
According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) Job Cut Announcement Report released Thursday, US-based employers announced 84,638 job cuts in February. This is a 3.0% increase from the 82,307 cuts announced in January and 9.0% higher than the 77,770 cuts announced in February 2023.
CG&C notes that February’s total is the highest for the second month of a year since 2009, when 186,350 cuts were announced. For the first two months of this year, companies have announced plans to cut 166,945 jobs—down 7.6% from the 180,713 cuts announced in January and February 2023. However, excluding January and February 2023, it is the highest January–February total since 2009, which saw 428,099 cuts announced.
According to CG&C, job cuts were widespread with technology experiencing the largest number of cuts in February, followed by financial firms, food production, retail, and media and news.
In February, US employers announced plans to hire 10,317 workers, resulting in a total of 15,693 for the first two months of the year. This is the lowest February year-to-date total since Challenger began tracking hiring plans in 2009.
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