The Challenger report on layoff intentions sees a decline of 11.0 percent to 93,816 in May from 105,441 in April. The number of announcements is up 47.0 percent compared to 63,816 in May 2024. Almost all industries announced layoff plans in May. The largest plans by industry are 22,492 in services, followed by 11,483 in retail and 10,598 in technology. Services are feeling the pinch of contract losses which are leading to cutbacks in current workforces as well as eliminating open and planned positions. Retail remains in contraction as major retailers are closing underperforming locations or closing down entirely. Technology continues shrinking as many businesses implement AI in their operations.

For the first five months of 2025, there are 696,309 planned layoff intentions compared to 385,859 in January-May of 2024. The 2025 comparable period is the highest since 1,414,816 in 2020 when the COVID pandemic forced massive shutdowns in activity. The next closest is 739,418 in 2009 during the Great Recession.

Among reasons cited for planned layoffs, nearly three-quarters are in two categories 35,090 in market/economic conditions and 33,888 in closing. These point to a downturn in the broader economy. Layoffs attributed to DOGE are down to 872 in May, although the total for the year to date is 284,044. Layoffs from DOGE downstream effects are at 3,514 in May and 10,459 for 2025 to date.

Hiring plans are weak at 9,683 in May, down 40.2 percent from 16,191 in April, but up 128.6 percent from 4,236 in May 2024. The largest number of hiring plans by sector is health care and products at 3,690.

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.