| Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | 105,441 | 275,240 |
Highlights
The Challenger report on layoff intentions in April sees planned job cuts down 61.7 percent to 105,441 in after 275,240 I March, and up 57.4 percent compared to 64,789 a year ago. Plans to cut jobs are concentrated in two industries in April. There are 27,021 planned cuts in technology or 25.6 percent of the total, and 22,050 in warehousing, or 20.9 percent of the total. Together the two account for over half of all layoff announcements. However, layoff announcements were widespread in April and remain elevated.
Announcements for 2025 to-date total 602,493, nearly twice the 322,043 in the same period of 2024. Planned government layoffs total 282,227 in the first four months of 2025 compared to 36,195 in the same period last year.
The reasons cited for layoffs in April are mainly point to market and economic conditions where 47,497 responses accounted for 45.0 percent of the total. However, for the year-to-date, the cause most often cites is DOGE actions for a total of 283,172 with an additional DOGE downstream impact of 6,945.
Hiring intentions are up 22.7 percent in April to 16,191 from 13,198 in March and up 65.2 percent from 9,802 in April 2024. Hiring plans are generally weak. The majority of intentions are from 12,000 in insurance, or 74.1 percent of the total. For the year-to-date, hiring intentions are up to 70,058 in 2025 from 46,597 in 2024.
Announcements for 2025 to-date total 602,493, nearly twice the 322,043 in the same period of 2024. Planned government layoffs total 282,227 in the first four months of 2025 compared to 36,195 in the same period last year.
The reasons cited for layoffs in April are mainly point to market and economic conditions where 47,497 responses accounted for 45.0 percent of the total. However, for the year-to-date, the cause most often cites is DOGE actions for a total of 283,172 with an additional DOGE downstream impact of 6,945.
Hiring intentions are up 22.7 percent in April to 16,191 from 13,198 in March and up 65.2 percent from 9,802 in April 2024. Hiring plans are generally weak. The majority of intentions are from 12,000 in insurance, or 74.1 percent of the total. For the year-to-date, hiring intentions are up to 70,058 in 2025 from 46,597 in 2024.
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.
