United States Challenger Job Cuts

US employers announced 49,795 job cuts in January 2025, above 38,792 in December 2024 but down 40% from 82,307 a year earlier. It is also the lowest January job cut total since 2022. “January was relatively quiet in terms of job cut announcements. However, we’ve already seen major announcements in the early days of February, so it seems this quiet is unlikely to last,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior VP of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Technology led all sectors in job-cutting activity in January with 7,488. “Technology firms are being disrupted by AI integration, and many bellwether Tech companies are discussing efficiency and productivity initiatives, which means additional cuts may be coming,” said Challenger. Retail followed with 6,419 job cuts. The West experienced the highest number of layoffs at 19,899 and closures drove the highest number of layoffs with 16,123, followed by restructuring efforts (12,618 job losses) and market and economic conditions (8,159)