Employers have eliminated more than 1.1 million jobs through November, the highest tally since 2020, when companies shed 2.2 million positions as the pandemic hammered the U.S. economy, according to a new report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
So far, layoffs are up 54% from the same period a year earlier, when employers cut 761,358 jobs. It’s also only the sixth time since 1993 that job cuts in the first 11 months of the year have exceeded 1.1 million, the firm noted.
Here’s what’s fueling the jump in 2025 layoffs, according to Challenger.
Tech sector leads the layoff wave
Technology companies are at the center of this year’s job losses, cutting 153,536 positions through November, Challenger found. That’s a 17% increase from the 130,701 tech layoffs announced by the same point in 2024.
Amazon is among the most prominent firms trimming headcount. In October, the company said it would cut 14,000 jobs as it leans more heavily on AI tools to improve efficiency.
Retail has also seen significant reductions, shedding 91,954 jobs through November as shoppers cope with higher prices and cut back on nonessential purchases. While retailers typically boost hiring late in the year for the holiday rush, 2025 is on track to be the weakest year for seasonal employment in 15 years.
Retailers are expected to bring on between 265,000 and 365,000 seasonal workers this year, down sharply from the 442,000 seasonal hires in 2024, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), a trade group.
Other sectors with large numbers of job cuts so far include:
- Services: 69,089
- Telecommunications: 38,035
- Food: 34,165
- Nonprofit: 28,696
- Media and news: 17,163
Why employers are cutting jobs
Layoffs tied to the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, have been a major driver of job losses, accounting for nearly 300,000 cuts this year, the Challenger report said. DOGE, a cost-cutting initiative, reduced both funding and staffing at several federal agencies earlier in 2025.
The department’s actions also contributed to another 21,000 indirect job losses at private and nonprofit organizations that saw their federal funding reduced or eliminated.
Broader market and economic conditions were cited as the reason for an additional 245,086 layoffs. More than 178,500 workers lost their jobs after a company store, unit or department was shut down. Another 128,255 layoffs were attributed to restructuring efforts.
Advances in artificial intelligence were linked to 54,700 job cuts, as employers turned to automation and new technologies to streamline operations. Tariffs were cited as the cause of nearly 8,000 layoffs, with President Trump’s levies on trade partners pushing up costs and prompting some businesses to cut back on labor.
Small businesses, which typically operate with slim profit margins, say tariffs have been especially painful. New data from payroll firm ADP shows that private-sector employers cut 32,000 jobs in November, largely driven by companies with fewer than 50 workers. These smaller firms have absorbed much of the impact from rising costs and continued policy uncertainty.
