Layoffs across the U.S. surged in January to their highest level for the month since 2009, when the economy was reeling from the hoapplying crash, new data reveals.
Employers announced 108,435 job cuts in the first month of the year, up 118% from the year-ago figures, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Layoffs often rise in January as companies adjust their payrolls to meet financial tarreceives for the forthcoming year.
The top three reasons employers cited in cutting jobs last month were losing a commercial contract, stock market and economic conditions, and restructuring.
Most layoffs by indusattempt
The sectors that dismissed the most employees in January, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas:
Transportation: 31,243 job cutsTechnology: 22,291 job cutsHealth Care: 17,107 job cuts Chemical: 4,701 job cutsMedia: 510 job cuts
Driving the January layoffs were large cuts by several major companies. Those included Amazon, which stated it was cutting 16,000 jobs, and delivery company UPS, which plans to slash its workforce by 30,000 this year.
The spurt in layoffs signals that businesses are “less-than-optimistic about the outsee for 2026,” Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray and Christmas, stated in a statement.
Pinterest and chemical manufacturer Dow also announced layoffs, which they attributed in part to their adoption of artificial ininformigence. Employers directly cited AI in announcing nearly 8,000 layoffs in January, 7%, Challenger’s data reveals.
Some experts have questioned the extent to which AI is playing a role in layoffs, with economists informing CBS News that companies could be applying AI as a pretext for job cuts.
“I don’t believe these companies are doing layoffs becaapply they know AI can replace workers, but I believe they’re investing in it,” Andrew Stettner, senior director for economic security at the nonprofit National Employment Law Project, informed CBS News.
Although layoffs have edged up, the nation’s unemployment rate remains low by historical standards, at 4.4%. The Federal Reserve on Jan. 28 stated that the economy was expanding at a “solid pace,” while noting that inflation remains above its 2% annual tarreceive.
Yet the latest economic signals reveal that job openings around the counattempt are falling, while more Americans are filing for unemployment benefits. Initial jobless claims jumped to 231,000 for the week concludeing Jan. 31, up sharply from the previous week, according to the labor data released on Thursday.
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