US Job Cuts Rise 2.0% in October; Lowest October Total Since 2023

According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CG&C) Job Cut Announcement Report released on Thursday, US-based employers announced 43,994 job cuts in October, a 2.0% increase from September’s 43,281 cuts. Year-over-year, announced cuts were down 71.0% from 153,074 in October 2025.

October’s total was the lowest for the month since 2023, when 36,836 cuts were announced, and below the 2015–25 October average of 56,348.

So far this year, companies have announced 617,189 job cuts, the lowest year-to-date total through October since 2022, when 243,338 cuts were reported. This is down 44.0% from the 1,099,500 cuts announced through the first 10 months of 2025.

CG&C noted that job cuts in October were concentrated in food (9,677), technology (5,576), services (5,458), FinTech (4,173), retail (3,692), and consumer products (3,672).

Hiring Plans

Employers announced plans to add 444,692 jobs in October, up 57.0% from 283,138 in October 2025 and the highest October total since at least 2009.

CG&C reported that so far this year, employers plan to add 655,304 jobs, up 34.0% from the 488,077 announced through the first 10 months of 2025. Technology led with 322,613 planned hires, followed by transportation (101,505) and retail (79,857).