Reemployment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas released a report today saying that, driven by layoffs in technology and government departments, the number of layoffs announced in the US in March exceeded 90,000, a record high since January 2023.
According to the report, the US announced a total of 90,309 layoffs in March, an increase of 6.7% compared with 8,4638 in February, and an increase of 0.7% compared to the 89,703 announced in March 2023.
In the first quarter of this year, the technology industry continued to lay off workers faster than other industries. In March, 14,224 layoffs were announced, with a total of 4,2442 layoffs in the first quarter. In March, the US government had the largest number of layoffs, announcing a total of 3,044 layoffs, the highest level since September 2011, mainly within the Department of Veterans Affairs and the US Army.
In the first three months of this year, American companies announced a total of 257,254 layoffs, down from 270,416 in the first quarter of last year. This is another sign that the job market continues to stabilize under high interest rates. According to a report released by payroll processing company ADP on Wednesday, 184,000 new jobs were added in the US private sector in March, higher than expected. The US government is expected to announce on Friday that the total number of jobs will increase by about 200,000 in March.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas said the most common reasons for employers to lay off workers are: cost reduction and restructuring. Andy Challenger, the company's senior vice president, said, “Many companies seem to be returning to the 'do more with less' approach. “So far this year, while technology companies continue to lead all industries, several other industries, including energy and industrial manufacturing, have also had more layoffs this year than last year.”