U.S. businesses announce 75,891 job cuts in August - Challenger Report

A report from employment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. showed Thursday that the U.S. businesses announced 75,891 job cuts in August, up 193.2 per cent from the 25,885 layoffs announced in July. This marked the first rise in job cuts in five months and represented the highest reading since March 2024 (90,309).

According to the report, the Technology sector announced the largest number of job cuts in last month (39,563, or 52.1 per cent of all). It was followed by the Health care and products (6,158, or 8.1 per cent of all), Services sector (3,691, or 4.9 per cent of all), and Financial (3,155, or 2.2 per cent of all) sectors. 

Year-to-date, U.S. employers announced intentions to cut 536,421 jobs, down 3.7 per cent from the 557,057 cuts announced in January through August of 2023.

From January through August, Technology led all industries in job cut announcements with 105,426, (or 19.7 per cent of all announced job cuts). It was followed by Government (37,616, or 7.0 per cent of all cuts), Financial (35,526, or 6.6 per cent), and Services (34,469, or 6.4 per cent).

Commenting on the latest report, Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., noted the August surge in job cuts reflects growing economic uncertainty and shifting market dynamics. “Companies are facing a variety of pressures, from rising operational costs to concerns about a potential economic slowdown, leading them to make tough decisions about workforce management,” he added.