| Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|
| Level | 54,064 | 85,979 |
Highlights
The Challenger report for September shows layoff intentions backing down 37.1 percent to 54,064 from 85,979 in August and off 25.8 percent from 72,821 in September 2024. However, for the year to date, layoff intentions total 946,426 compared to 609,242 in the same period of 2024. Layoffs in government and technology account for about 43 percent of all layoffs so far in 2025.
For September, layoff intentions were broad-based. The largest share of September layoff intentions is in services (6,290, or 11.6 percent of the total), energy (5,807, or 10.7 percent), and technology (5,639, or 10.4 percent).
The reasons cited for layoffs in September is dominated by closing (13,622, or 25.2 percent of the total), followed by market or economic conditions (8,930, or 16.5 percent), and artificial intelligence (7,000, 13.0 percent). Layoffs related to DOGE action are a relatively small 1,474, although for year to date these total 293,753. DOGE downstream impact is picking up the pace at 3,360 in September and 20,976 year to date.
Hiring intentions jump 7,725.3 percent to 117,313 in September after the series low of 1,494 in August. Most of the 96,450 increase in the retail sector is related to seasonal hiring plans. Excluding retail, the 20,863 hiring plans are mainly from a rise of 5,656 in government and 4,600 in warehouse. This September, plans for holiday hiring are at low levels not seen since 2011 as the economy was still recovering from the Great Recession. Importantly, there are no plans reported this month to add to transportation payrolls when delivery services add workers to deliver holiday goods.
For September, layoff intentions were broad-based. The largest share of September layoff intentions is in services (6,290, or 11.6 percent of the total), energy (5,807, or 10.7 percent), and technology (5,639, or 10.4 percent).
The reasons cited for layoffs in September is dominated by closing (13,622, or 25.2 percent of the total), followed by market or economic conditions (8,930, or 16.5 percent), and artificial intelligence (7,000, 13.0 percent). Layoffs related to DOGE action are a relatively small 1,474, although for year to date these total 293,753. DOGE downstream impact is picking up the pace at 3,360 in September and 20,976 year to date.
Hiring intentions jump 7,725.3 percent to 117,313 in September after the series low of 1,494 in August. Most of the 96,450 increase in the retail sector is related to seasonal hiring plans. Excluding retail, the 20,863 hiring plans are mainly from a rise of 5,656 in government and 4,600 in warehouse. This September, plans for holiday hiring are at low levels not seen since 2011 as the economy was still recovering from the Great Recession. Importantly, there are no plans reported this month to add to transportation payrolls when delivery services add workers to deliver holiday goods.
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.
