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US: Challenger Job-Cut Report
| Actual | Previous | |
| Level | 52,881 | 33,429 |
Highlights
US companies announce 52,881 layoffs in August, up 58 percent from 33,429 cuts in July. This is down 38 percent from 85,979 in August 2025. This is the lowest August total since 2022.
Through August, employers announce 529,914 layoffs, down 41 percent from the 892,362 in the first eight months of 2025.
Among sectors, consumer products lead all sectors in August with 10,057 cuts, its biggest month of the year, led by announcements at Procter & Gamble and Estée Lauder. Food producers announce 7,982 cuts in August. Technology announces 6,103 cuts in August, its lowest month of 2026.
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.
