Job cuts announced by US-based employers fell to 32,843 in December 2019, the lowest since July 2018, down 26.3 percent from November and 25.2 percent from the same month last year. Considering 2019 full year, employers announced plans to cut 592,556 jobs from their payrolls, 10 percent year-on-year and the highest annual total since 2015, when 598,510 cuts were announced. Retail led all sectors in 2019 with 77,475 job cuts, of which 48,753 were due to bankruptcies, followed by industrial goods manufacturers (70,894 cuts, the highest since 2009), auto makers (50,776 cuts, the highest since 2009) and technology companies (64,166 cuts). “The sectors with the highest number of cuts this year were all dealing with trade concerns, emerging technologies, and shifts in consumer behavior. We tracked a lot of hiring activity in these industries as well as cuts,” said Challenger. Challenger Job Cuts in the United States averaged 64311.13 Persons from 1994 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 248475 Persons in January of 2002 and a record low of 15100 Persons in June of 1997.

Challenger Job Cuts in the United States is expected to be 65000.00 Persons by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Challenger Job Cuts in the United States to stand at 51000.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United States Challenger Job Cuts is projected to trend around 55000.00 Persons in 2020, according to our econometric models.

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United States Challenger Job Cuts
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
32843.00 44569.00 248475.00 15100.00 1994 - 2019 Persons Monthly
NSA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2019-10-03 11:30 AM Sep 41.557K 53.48K 61K
2019-10-31 11:30 AM Oct 50.275K 41.557K 80K
2019-12-05 12:30 PM Nov 44.569K 50.275K 59K
2020-01-02 12:30 PM Dec 32.843K 44.569K 48K
2020-02-06 12:30 PM Jan 32.843K 56K
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
US Companies Cut Less Jobs in November 2019-12-05
US-based employers announced plans to cut 44,569 jobs from their payrolls in November of 2019, down 11 percent from the 50,275 cuts announced in October and 16 percent less than 53,073 a year earlier. November cuts were led by the technology sector, which announced 7,292 cuts. Health Care companies, including hospitals and medical products manufacturers, announced the second-highest total in November, with 6,247. Considering the January-November period, employers have announced plans to cut 559,713 jobs from their payrolls, 13.1 percent higher than the 494,775 cuts announced through November last year. It is the highest January-November total since 2015. Retail continues to lead all sectors in 2019 with 74,686 cuts, followed by industrial goods (68,141) and technology (63,447). "The Tech sector is undergoing major changes due to an evolving landscape. New technologies are changing the way people work and often make workplaces more efficient” said Challenger.

US Job Cuts Down 33.5%: Challenger 2019-10-31
US-based employers announced plans to cut 50,275 jobs from their payrolls in October 2019, down 33.5 percent from the 75,644 cuts announced in the same month last year. The technology sector led all sectors with 15,898 announced cuts, bringing the year-to-date total to 56,155, the third-highest total for any industry through October. Health care companies announced 5,400 cuts while retail announced 6,127. So far this year, employers have announced plans to cut 515,441 jobs from their payrolls, 16.6 percent higher than the same period last year. It is the highest January-October total since 2015.

US Job Cuts Fall in September: Challenger 2019-10-03
US-based employers announced plans to cut 41,557 jobs from their payrolls in September 2019, down 24.8 percent from the 55,285 cuts announced in the same month last year. Retail led all sectors with 8,132 announced cuts, bringing the year-to-date total to 65,358. That is 23.5% lower than the 85,385 cuts announced in this sector during the same period last year. Industrial Goods manufacturers followed with 5,067 cuts in September, 2,261 of which were from steel manufacturers, and automotive companies announced 4,912 job cuts last month. So far this year, employers have announced plans to cut 464,869 jobs from their payrolls, 27.9 percent higher than the 366,058 cuts announced in the same nine months last year. It is the highest January-September total since 2015, when 493,431 cuts were announced.

US Job Cuts Rise 39% YoY in August: Challenger 2019-09-05
US-based employers announced plans to cut 53,480 jobs from their payrolls in August 2019, up 39 percent from 38,472 in the corresponding month of the previous year. Technology led all sectors in August, with 15,355 announced cuts, including 488 cuts from Cisco. The Government, both state and federal, announced 5,785 cuts and health care companies announced 5,040. Meanwhile, industrial goods manufacturing announced 3,822 cuts, transportation companies 3,554, and food companies 3,010. So far this year, employers have announced plans to cut 423,312 jobs from their payrolls, a 36.2 percent rise from the 310,773 cuts in the first eight months of 2018. It is the highest eight-month total since 2015, when 434,554 cuts were announced.

US Job Cuts Rise 43.2% YoY: Challenger 2019-08-01
US-based employers announced plans to cut 38,845 jobs from their payrolls in July 2019, up 43.2 percent from 27,122 in the same month last year. Transportation led all sectors in July, with 5,532 announced cuts, followed by industrial goods manufacturing, which announced 4,403 cuts last month. The energy sector announced 3,737 job cuts in July, while pharmaceutical companies announced 3,062. The overall manufacturing sector saw over 1,000 cuts announced due to the impact of tariffs. So far this year, employers have announced plans to cut 369,832 jobs, a 35.8 percent increase from the 272,301 cuts announced in the first seven months of last year. It is the highest seven-month total since 2015, when 393,368 cuts were announced.

US Job Cuts Rise for 11th Month 2019-07-03
US-based employers announced plans to cut 41,977 jobs from their payrolls in June 2019, 13 percent higher than the 37,202 cuts announced last year. That was the eleventh consecutive month of annual increases. So far this year, employers have announced plans to cut 330,987 jobs, a 35 percent increase from the 245,179 cuts announced through the first half of last year. This year marks the highest first-half total since 2009, when 896,675 job cuts were announced. The biggest job cuts were announced in the Industrial Goods sector (up 562 percent to 47,651), followed by Automotive makers and suppliers (up 190 percent to 32,350), Technology sector (up 266 percent to 21,777) and Energy sector (up 185 percent to 14,527).


United States Challenger Job Cuts
Challenger Job-Cut Report provides information on the number of announced corporate layoffs by industry and region.

United States Labour Last Previous Highest Lowest Unit
Unemployment Rate 3.50 3.50 10.80 2.50 percent [+]
Non Farm Payrolls 145.00 256.00 1118.00 -1959.00 Thousand [+]
Nonfarm Payrolls Private 139.00 243.00 1092.00 -1766.00 Thousand [+]
Government Payrolls 6.00 13.00 427.00 -260.00 Thousand [+]
Manufacturing Payrolls -12.00 58.00 655.00 -1715.00 Thousand [+]
Initial Jobless Claims 204.00 214.00 695.00 162.00 Thousand [+]
Continuing Jobless Claims 1767.00 1804.00 6635.00 988.00 Thousand [+]
ADP Employment Change 202.00 124.00 360.00 -706.00 Thousand [+]
Employed Persons 158803.00 158536.00 158803.00 57172.00 Thousand [+]
Unemployed Persons 5753.00 5811.00 15352.00 1596.00 Thousand [+]
Average Hourly Earnings 0.10 0.30 0.60 -0.20 percent [+]
Average Weekly Hours 34.30 34.30 34.60 33.70 Hours [+]
Labor Force Participation Rate 63.20 63.20 67.30 58.10 percent [+]
Long Term Unemployment Rate 0.72 0.74 4.40 0.08 percent [+]
Youth Unemployment Rate 8.10 8.00 19.50 4.80 percent [+]
Labour Costs 112.00 111.30 112.00 17.00 points [+]
Productivity 107.53 107.59 107.59 25.99 points [+]
Job Vacancies 7626.00 7095.00 7884.00 2157.00 Thousand [+]
Job Offers 7267.00 7032.00 7626.00 2264.00 Thousand [+]
Challenger Job Cuts 32843.00 44569.00 248475.00 15100.00 Persons [+]
Wages 23.79 23.77 23.79 2.50 USD/Hour [+]
Wage Growth 5.34 5.03 13.78 -5.88 percent [+]
Wages in Manufacturing 22.57 22.41 22.57 1.27 USD/Hour [+]
Minimum Wages 7.25 7.25 7.25 0.25 USD/Hour [+]
Employment Cost Index 0.70 0.60 2.00 0.20 percent [+]
Population 327.17 325.15 327.17 76.09 Million [+]
Retirement Age Women 66.00 66.00 66.00 66.00 [+]
Retirement Age Men 66.00 66.00 66.00 66.00 [+]
Employment Rate 61.00 61.00 64.70 54.90 percent [+]
Living Wage Family 2380.00 2270.00 2380.00 2160.00 USD/Month [+]
Living Wage Individual 1660.00 1560.00 1660.00 1450.00 USD/Month [+]
Part Time Employment 26992.00 26992.00 28134.00 10086.00 Thousand [+]
Full Time Employment 131755.00 131562.00 131755.00 64640.00 Thousand [+]
Wages High Skilled 4520.00 4330.00 4950.00 4330.00 USD/Month [+]
Wages Low Skilled 1960.00 1760.00 2340.00 1760.00 USD/Month [+]