The Challenger report for June shows 40,709 announced layoff intentions, down 49.2 percent from 80,089 in May and the lowest since 33,843 in October 2022. The level is 25.2 percent higher than the 32,517 in June 2022. The largest number of layoffs by sector is 6,545 in telecommunications, or 16.1 percent of the total. The next largest is 5,194 in healthcare/services or 5,194 of the total. The third largest is 4,941 in services, or 12.1 percent of the total. Together these account for 41.1 percent of all layoff intentions in June.

Layoffs in the tech sector came in at the fourth largest number with 4,685 announced intentioned in June, or 11.5 percent of the total. Layoffs in technology reach a total of 141,516 for 2023 to date, well above any other sector. However, the June layoff announcements in tech are significantly lower than in recent months and suggest that the worst is over in that sector.

Among reasons cited for layoffs, the largest given was market/economic conditions at 10,410 or 25.6 percent of all intentions. Less clear is the"no reasons" given at 9,177 or 22.5 percent of all layoff intentions. The third largest is closing at 7,401, or 18.2 percent of the total in June which was probably related to the shutdown of Bed Bath and Beyond. Together these account for 66.3 percent of all layoffs.

Hiring plans are up 72.8 percent in June to 13,2629 after 7,885 in May, but down 86.8 percent from 102,897 in June 2022. While overall intentions to hire are modest, at best, it is interesting to note that the largest number by sector is 2,792 in industrial, or 20.5 percent of the total and the second largest is 2,500 in technology, or 18.3 percent of the total. Together these account for 38.8 percent of all hiring intentions. It appears that manufacturers and tech companies are planning to capture some of those previously laid off while these skilled workers are available.

This monthly report counts and categorizes announcements of corporate layoffs based on mass layoff data from state departments of labor. The job-cut report must be analyzed with caution. It doesn't distinguish between layoffs scheduled for the short-term or the long term, or whether job cuts are handled through attrition or actual layoffs. Also, the job-cut report does not include jobs eliminated in small batches over a longer time period. Unlike most economic data, this series is not adjusted for seasonal variation.

The job-cut report is basically a rehash of the weekly jobless claims report but provides additional insight into where layoffs are occurring. There is industry and geographic (states) detail that is not available with weekly jobless claims.