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US: Challenger Job-Cut Report
Highlights
US CHALLENGER JOB CUTS UP 16.3 PERCENT AT 97,006 IN MAY VS 83,387 IN APRIL; UP
3.4 PERCENT FROM MAY 2025
US CHALLENGER JOB CUTS FOR MAY LED BY TECHNOLOGY (38,242), TRANSPORTATION (6,909), SERVICES (6,268)
US CHALLENGER: REASONS FOR JOB CUTS LED BY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (38,579), ECONOMIC CONDITIONS (16,587), CLOSING (14,546)
US CHALLENGER JOB CUTS YEAR-TO-DATE 397,755 IN 2026 VS 696,309 IN 2025 YEAR-TO-DATE
US CHALLENGER HIRING PLANS UP 94.4 PERCENT AT 19,536 IN MAY VS 10,049 IN APRIL;
UP 361.2% FROM MAY 2025
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.
