Although the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report issued Friday showed that the unemployment rate “changed little” last month, a separate report found that layoffs reached a 14-month high.
“U.S.-based employers announced 90,309 cuts in March, up 7% from the 84,638 cuts announced in February , and virtually the same as (+0.7%) the 89,703 cuts announced in the same month last year . It is the highest monthly total since 102,943 cuts occurred in January 2023 , said the report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas , a Chicago-based global outplacement and career transitioning firm.
Even as these cuts were announced, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 303,000 in March and the unemployment rate stayed around 3.8%, per the BLS.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation – and high interest rates put in place by the Federal Reserve Bank to tame inflation – have put pressure on both consumers and businesses. However, according to the Fed’s March Federal Open Market Committee statement , “job gains have remained strong, and the unemployment rate has remained low.”
Low doesn’t mean nonexistent, though. According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas report, companies announced plans to cut 257,254 jobs in the first quarter. That was down 5% from the same quarter last year, but up 120% from the final quarter of 2023.
“Layoffs certainly ticked up to round out the first quarter, though below last year’s levels. Many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach,” explained said Andy Challenger, workplace and labor expert and Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “While Technology continues to lead all industries so far this year, several industries, including Energy and Industrial Manufacturing, are cutting more jobs this year than last.”
Last month, Audacy reported on several different layoffs. These included layoffs predicted in the New York area , layoffs of YouTube and Google contractors , middle manager layoffs, layoffs at auto manufacturer Stellantis , and layoffs of California fast food workers ahead of a minimum wage increase in the state.
Technology jobs have been the most likely to be laid off this year, said the Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Its report said that this March, technology companies announced 14,224 cuts for a total of 42,442 so far this year.
Another category with significant cuts was the government sector. Per the report, the government announced 36,044 job eliminations in March, the highest monthly total for the sector since September 2011.
“This sector has cut a total of 15,584 cuts between 2021 and 2023 after cutting 78,323 cuts in 2020,” said the report. Other cuts were announced at financial firms, transportation companies, in industrial goods manufacturing, in the apparel industry and in news media.
Most of the job cuts (66,302 in the first quarter) were the result of “cost-cutting,” said Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Another 48,352 cuts this year were the result of restructuring; 38,619 were due to business, unit, or store closures; market conditions were responsible for 23,329 cuts and 7,591 were linked to bankruptcy.
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