05 Feb Challenger Report: January Job Cuts Surge; Lowest January Hiring on Record

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas

05 Feb Challenger Report: January Job Cuts Surge; Lowest January Hiring on Record

JOB CUTS SURGE IN JANUARY; HIGHEST JANUARY TOTAL SINCE 2009. LOWEST JANUARY HIRING ON RECORD

U.S.-based employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, an increase of 118% from the 49,795 cuts announced in the same month last year. It is up 205% from the 35,553 job cuts announced in December, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

January's total is the highest for the month since 2009, when 241,749 job cuts were announced. It is the highest monthly total since October 2025, when 153,074 cuts were recorded.

"Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026," said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.



{snip}

Read more: https://www.challengergray.com/blog/challenger-report-january-job-cuts-surge-lowest-january-hiring-on-record/

---

Last month's report, January 8, 2026:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143594852

General link, to all recent reports:

https://www.challengergray.com/blog/category/job-cuts-report/

----------

I edited the schedule of times and dates for the release of major U.S. economic reports this morning. Some things got moved around.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1116101624

[MLWR]

1. Whatever happened to that "manufacturing boom"????

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. Layoffs in January were the highest to start a year since 2009, Challenger says

Economy

Layoffs in January were the highest to start a year since 2009, Challenger says

Published Thu, Feb 5 2026 7:30 AM EST
Updated 11 Min Ago
Jeff Cox
@JeffCoxCNBCcom
@jeff.cox.7528

KEY POINTS

• U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009.
• At the same time, companies announced just 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, which is when Challenger, Gray & Christmas began tracking such data.

Layoff plans hit their highest January total since the global financial crisis while hiring intentions reached their lowest since the same period, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009, while the economy was in the final months of its steepest downturn since the Great Depression. ... At the same time, companies announced just 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, which is when Challenger began tracking such data. The crisis recession officially ended in March 2009.

With the recent narrative centering on a no-hire, no-fire labor market, the Challenger data suggests that the layoff part of the equation could be stepping up. ... "Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January," said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for the firm. "It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026."

{snip}

[Multichromatic]

3. Recession incoming and may have already started.