Private Sector Job Cuts Surge Month-Over-Month in January
According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. (CG&C) Job Cut Announcement Report released Thursday, US-based employers announced 82,307 job cuts in January. This is a 136% increase from 34,817 cuts announced in December 2023. However, it is 20% below the 102,943 job cuts announced in January 2023.
CG&C notes that with the exception of January 2023, this is the highest number of cuts announced in January since 2009, when 241,749 cuts were announced in the first month of that year.
According to CG&C, job cuts were widespread, with financial services experiencing the largest number of cuts in January, followed by technology, food production, retail, and media and news.
In January, US employers announced plans to hire 5,376 workers—the lowest January on record. However, that is up 78% compared to 3,022 hiring plans announced in December 2023, which was the lowest monthly total on record.
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