U.S. Job Cuts Soar to Highest October Level Since 2020 as Hiring Plans Collapse — Evening Brief – 11.06.25
U.S. employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, a 183% surge from September and 175% higher than a year ago, marking the steepest October layoff total since the pandemic, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Through the first ten months of 2025, layoffs have reached 1.10 million — up 65% year-over-year and already 44% above the full-year 2024 total of 761,358 — reflecting a rapidly cooling labor market as companies respond to softening demand, rising costs, and accelerated adoption of automation and AI.
“October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average for the month,” said Andy Challenger, Chief Revenue Officer, noting that many sectors are now correcting after the pandemic-era hiring boom, while simultaneously facing pressured margins and slowing consumer and corporate spending.
Hiring plans have slowed to a near standstill. Employers have announced 488,077 new hires year-to-date, down 35% from the same period in 2024 and the lowest January-October total since 2011, with an average of just 48,808 planned hires per month — also the weakest since 2011. Seasonal hiring is similarly muted: only 372,520 holiday positions have been announced through October, the lowest on record since Challenger began tracking this data in 2012.
“It’s possible rate cuts and a strong November could prompt a late-season hiring bump, but at this point we do not expect a strong seasonal environment for 2025,” Challenger said.
Layoffs are concentrated in several key areas of the economy. Government job cuts total 307,638 so far in 2025 — more than seven times the 37,746 cuts during the same period last year — making it the hardest-hit sector. Technology ranks second with 141,159 layoffs, up 17% year-over-year, while warehousing and logistics cuts have soared 378% to 90,418 amid accelerated automation across supply chains.
A major driver of the surge is the “DOGE” impact, which employers cited for 293,753 direct layoffs, with another 20,976 cuts attributed to downstream effects at private and nonprofit entities.
The sharp rise in job cuts, combined with collapsing hiring plans, points to a more cautious labor landscape heading into 2026, defined by cost discipline, margin protection, and a shift toward AI-enabled efficiency across industries.