Layoff announcements in the United States have climbed to their highest point since the pandemic era, signaling a major shift in the labor market.
New data from Challenger, Gray and Christmas shows that employers have revealed plans to cut nearly 1.2 million jobs through the end of November. This makes 2025 only the sixth year since 1993 in which job cut announcements for this period have crossed the 1.1 million mark.
November alone recorded 71,321 planned cuts, which is higher than the same month last year and the largest November total since 2022.
Technology, food companies, and telecommunications firms were among the most affected sectors. Verizon stood out after announcing plans to eliminate 13,000 positions in November.
These figures carry even more weight due to the recent government shutdown, which created a pause in official federal employment reports.
With limited data available, the Challenger numbers have become one of the few indicators showing how severely the job market has tightened this year.
