Job reductions are up 175% this October, from the 55,597 cuts that were announced a year ago.
New data show that job reductions in October were the worst for the month in 22 years.
“October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average for the month,” Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.
‘Technology Is Changing The Landscape,’ Challenger Says on October Job Reductions
According to Challenger, while some industries are correcting after the pandemic hiring boom, AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs are driving “belt-tightening and hiring freezes” among companies.
“Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market,” he added.
So far, the industries getting hit the hardest continue to be technology amid AI integration, slower demand, and efficiency pressures. The technology industry has announced 141,159 job cuts, up from 17% of the workforce last year.
The retail industry cut 2,431 jobs in October, which is down from 2,577 in September. The sector, however, remains the most brutally hit. There have been 88,664 job cuts so far this year, representing a 145% increase from the 33,136 cuts reported last year.
Services, warehousing, consumer products, nonprofits, media companies, and news are among the top industries seeing the most cuts.
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Source: Black Enterprise
