The number of Layoffs reported by US companies in January and February of this year was the largest since 2009, with the technology sector accounting for more than a third of the over 180,000 announced. According to a survey released on Thursday (March 9) by the employment company Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc, US-based companies declared 77,770 job layoffs in February, a 24% decrease from the 102,943 cuts revealed in January.
“February’s total is the highest for the month since 2009 when 186,350 cuts were recorded. So far this year, employers announced plans to cut 180,713 jobs, up 427% from the 34,309 cuts announced in the first two months of 2022. It is the highest January-February total since 2009 when a total of 428,099 job cuts were announced in January and February,” the report said.
Employers are paying attention to the Fed’s rate hike intentions, according to Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. “Many have been planning for a downturn for months, cutting costs elsewhere. If things continue to cool, layoffs are typically the last piece in company cost-cutting strategies,” Challenger said in the report.
He stated that the majority of employment layoffs are currently occurring in technology, but that retail and finance are also shedding jobs as consumer spending reflects economic realities. According to the Challenger study released on Thursday, job layoffs were revealed in technology, healthcare, retail, finance and fintech, and media and news.
The industries that are laying off workers
Technology: According to the report, the industry that eliminated the most positions in February—21,387—accounted for 28% of all layoffs that were disclosed in January. “The industry has cut a total of 63,216, up 33,705% from the 187 cuts announced in the same period last year. This sector has announced 35% of all job cuts in 2023,” the report said.
Healthcare: The healthcare sector, which includes hospitals and makers of healthcare products, disclosed the second-highest number of job layoffs in February, with 9,749 cuts, compared to 8,928 cuts in the same month last year. According to Andrew Challenger, while many hospitals continue to struggle to maintain and attract staff, others are slashing costs as the economy continues to deteriorate. When it comes to healthcare product makers, Challenger stated that they are grappling with rising company expenditures and personnel reductions.
Retail, banking, and fintech: According to the study released on Thursday, retailers have declared 17,456 job cuts this year, a 2,194% increase over the 761 job cuts announced in the industry during the same period last year. “Financial firms have slashed 17,235 jobs, which is 1,401% more than the 1,148 job layoffs disclosed in January and February of last year,” according to the report. It also stated that the fintech sector reported 4,675 job cutbacks in January and February of this year, accounting for 45% of the industry’s total job cuts in 2022.
Media and news: To date, the media industry has declared 9,738 job layoffs, compared to 3,774 disclosed the previous year. “Of those, 906 occurred in digital, print, and broadcast News, which Challenger tracks as a subset of Media, 546 of which occurred in February. This is up 353% from the 200 News cuts which occurred through February 2022,” Thursday’s statement said.
A hiccup in recruiting plans
On Thursday, Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc announced a reduction in hiring intentions. Businesses reported plans to hire 28,830 people last month, a 12% decrease from the 32,764 announced in January. Last February, 215,127 hiring plans were announced. “So far this year, companies announced plans to hire 61,594 workers, the lowest January-February total since 2016, when employers planned to hire just 15,901 workers in the first two months of the year,” the report said.