U.S.-Based Employers Job Cut Report Little Changed Month-Over-Month in January 2022

According to the latest Job Cut Report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C), Inc, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers in January 2022 were almost identical to the December 2021 levels. January’s job cuts were 19,064 — up 0.063% from December’s 19,052. It is, however, -76% lower than the 79,552 cuts announced in January 2021.

In January, companies announced plans to hire 77,630 workers, the highest January total since 2017, when 136,501 hiring plans were recorded.

The report notes that of the cuts announced in January, 5,757 cuts were due to companies shedding workers who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19. That brings the total number of cuts due to vaccine refusal to 13,391 since June 2021, when Challenger first recorded job cuts for this reason. While vaccine refusal accounted for the most job cuts last month, another 4,442 occurred because of store, plant, or unit closings. Companies reported market conditions caused another 3,932.

In a statement prepared to accompany the release of the January report, Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. said, “Omicron likely slowed the numbers of jobs added in January. Though the Supreme Court decision on the OSHA rule potentially removed a hurdle to hiring, the amount of work companies — particularly Human Resources and Talent Acquisition departments — are undergoing to create and implement their own policies; attract, retain, and onboard workers; comply with the patchwork of COVID guidelines; and grapple with illnesses, will slow hiring processes.”