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Layoffs soared in August, hitting their highest total for the month in 15 years, while year-to-date hiring reached a historic low, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.
Announced job cuts totaled 75,891 for the month, lurching 193% higher than July. Though the total was just 1% higher than the same month in 2023, it was the highest number for August going back to 2009, as the economy was still escaping the worst of the global financial crisis.
On the hiring front, companies said they were adding just 6,101 new workers, up by nearly 2,500 since July, but down more than 21% from August 2023. The year-to-date hiring announcements of nearly 80,000 is the lowest total in history going back to 2005.
“August’s surge in job cuts reflects growing economic uncertainty and shifting market dynamics,” said Andrew Challenger, the firm’s senior vice president. “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.”
The report comes with concerns rising that the labor market is weakening even though the U.S. economy has seen growth of 1.4 million in nonfarm payrolls this year. Payrolls processing firm ADP reported Wednesday that private companies added just 99,000 workers in August, the smallest gain since January 2021.
Markets expect a softening jobs picture to prod the Federal Reserve into lowering interest rates later this month even with inflation running higher than the central bank’s 2% target.
To be sure, the Challenger layoffs data is somewhat out of sync with government reports, which show that initial claims for unemployment benefits have been slightly elevated in recent weeks but not reflective of a major escalation. For the week ended Aug. 31, jobless claims totaled 227,000, a slight decrease from the previous period.
Thursday’s report showed the biggest growth in planned layoffs came in the technology field, with companies announcing 41,829 cuts, the most in 20 months.
“The labor market overall is softening,” Challenger said.
Companies announcing job cuts most often cited cost-cutting and economic conditions as the reasons, though artificial intelligence also was listed for the first time since April.