The US-based employer cut more jobs in February this year than in 16 years. New Report Outplacement Challenger, from Grey and Christmas.
This year, employers announced 172,017 job cuts. This is the shortest and shortest month since 2009, when 186,350 jobs were cut. Total employment cuts in February this year are more than twice the 84,638 cuts announced in February 2024.
Last month, the company has had the highest monthly job losses since July 2020, when 262,649 jobs were cut.
A similar trend was revealed in the year-on-year total. The 221,812 job cuts were announced in the first two months of the year. This is the highest total since 2009 when 480,099 losses were announced amid the recession.
Government employment cuts – driven primarily by President Trump's Government Efficiency Committee – led all sectors of most of the cuts announced.
According to the report, 62,242 jobs were cut from 17 institutions in February this year, resulting in a total of 62,530 job losses since the start of the year. This represents a 41,311% increase from the 151 job cuts released in the same period in 2024, according to the report.
The Labor Bureau will release its official February employment report on Friday morning.
“It appears the administration wants to cut more workers, but the order to fire around 200,000 probation employees has been blocked by a federal judge, said Andrew Challenger, the company's senior vice president, in the report.
“When there are massive layoffs, the rest of the staff often feel uneasy and uncertain. There is a high chance that more workers will leave voluntarily,” he added.
Retail employment cuts followed government cuts, with 38,956 announced in February with a total of 45,375 this year. This represents a 572% increase from last year, when retailers cut 6,751 jobs from the start of the year.
The technology sector announced a 14,554 job cut in February, resulting in a total of 22,042 cuts over the course of the year. However, it represents a 22% decline due to the 28,218 cuts announced in the first two months of last year.
