America’s Job Cuts Hit 5-Year High
The pace of layoffs in the United States is accelerating once again. Between January and May 2025, job cut announcements by US employers have surged to 696,309. This figure marks the second-highest year-to-date total since the 2008–09 financial crisis era, trailing only behind the historic layoff spike of 2020.
To put this into context, the job cut figures for the same period in previous years were significantly lower:
2018: 207,977
2019: 289,010
2020: 1,414,828
2021: 192,185
2022: 100,694
2023: 417,500
2024: 385,859
2025: 696,309
The year-over-year change is also stark. In May alone, there were 93,816 announced job cuts—an alarming 47% jump compared to May 2024. It’s the highest layoff count for the month of May since the pandemic-driven cuts of 2020.
Among sectors, services led the layoff wave with 22,492 job cuts, reaching a five-year high. Retail followed with 11,483 layoffs, and technology firms announced 10,598 job cuts during the same period.
Multiple factors are driving this trend: the impact of tariffs, reduced funding in key sectors, declining consumer spending, and a growing sense of economic pessimism. These headwinds are forcing companies to trim their workforce as a precautionary or reactive measure.
With the first five months of 2025 already surpassing the full-year figures of many pre-pandemic years, concerns over job stability and economic slowdown are becoming more pronounced. Whether this signals deeper economic troubles ahead remains to be seen—but the momentum suggests more turbulence could be coming.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas
The pace of layoffs in the United States is accelerating once again. Between January and May 2025, job cut announcements by US employers have surged to 696,309. This figure marks the second-highest year-to-date total since the 2008–09 financial crisis era, trailing only behind the historic layoff spike of 2020.
To put this into context, the job cut figures for the same period in previous years were significantly lower:
2018: 207,977
2019: 289,010
2020: 1,414,828
2021: 192,185
2022: 100,694
2023: 417,500
2024: 385,859
2025: 696,309
The year-over-year change is also stark. In May alone, there were 93,816 announced job cuts—an alarming 47% jump compared to May 2024. It’s the highest layoff count for the month of May since the pandemic-driven cuts of 2020.
Among sectors, services led the layoff wave with 22,492 job cuts, reaching a five-year high. Retail followed with 11,483 layoffs, and technology firms announced 10,598 job cuts during the same period.
Multiple factors are driving this trend: the impact of tariffs, reduced funding in key sectors, declining consumer spending, and a growing sense of economic pessimism. These headwinds are forcing companies to trim their workforce as a precautionary or reactive measure.
With the first five months of 2025 already surpassing the full-year figures of many pre-pandemic years, concerns over job stability and economic slowdown are becoming more pronounced. Whether this signals deeper economic troubles ahead remains to be seen—but the momentum suggests more turbulence could be coming.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas data
Disclaimer:The information in this article is based on data provided by Challenger, Gray & Christmas and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice or a forecast. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research or consult with professionals before making any employment, investment, or business decisions.
