| Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | 44,510 | 36,836 |
Highlights
The Challenger layoff report for November shows planned job cuts rose 23.5 percent to 45,510 after 36,836 in October, but were down 40.8 percent compared to 76,835 in November 2022. Three categories account for about 1/3 of all job cut announcements. These are 6,548 in retail, 5,049 in technology, and 3,698 in financial.
For 2023 to-date, Challenger reports 686,860 job cuts announced, more than doubling the 320,173 in the first 11 months of 2022. Layoffs in the tech sector continue to dominate the story of layoffs in 2023. So far this year there have been 163,562 layoff plans announced in technology, twice that of the 80,978 in the first 11 months of 2022.
While Challenger reports that a majority of layoffs are given no reason (19,863), among reasons cited, the largest is 7,561 in closing (16.6 percent of the total) that's probably related to shuttering of brick-and-mortar retail locations. The next two more often cited reasons are cost-cutting (4,084) and restructuring (4,018). A large share of layoffs reflects the types of decisions normally taken around year-end to make preparations for the coming year.
Hiring intentions declined a sharp 55.8 percent in November to 15,566 from 35,202 in October and were down 48.5 percent compared to a year ago. Given that nearly half of hiring plans are in government (7,500), it would appear that many businesses are turning more cautious about increasing staff and/or about the economic outlook and the need for an expanded workforce.
For 2023 to-date, Challenger reports 686,860 job cuts announced, more than doubling the 320,173 in the first 11 months of 2022. Layoffs in the tech sector continue to dominate the story of layoffs in 2023. So far this year there have been 163,562 layoff plans announced in technology, twice that of the 80,978 in the first 11 months of 2022.
While Challenger reports that a majority of layoffs are given no reason (19,863), among reasons cited, the largest is 7,561 in closing (16.6 percent of the total) that's probably related to shuttering of brick-and-mortar retail locations. The next two more often cited reasons are cost-cutting (4,084) and restructuring (4,018). A large share of layoffs reflects the types of decisions normally taken around year-end to make preparations for the coming year.
Hiring intentions declined a sharp 55.8 percent in November to 15,566 from 35,202 in October and were down 48.5 percent compared to a year ago. Given that nearly half of hiring plans are in government (7,500), it would appear that many businesses are turning more cautious about increasing staff and/or about the economic outlook and the need for an expanded workforce.
Definition
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.
Description
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.
