Layoff announcements in 2025 have climbed to their highest level since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic shuttered large parts of the U.S. economy, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Through November, announced job cuts have topped 1.1 million, making this only the sixth year since 1993 that layoffs have crossed that mark before year-end. The last time that happened was in 2020, when planned cuts had already reached 2.3 million by this point.
In November alone, U.S.-based employers announced 71,321 planned job cuts, Challenger reported. While that figure is lower than the total layoffs announced in October, it is still higher than the level recorded in November of last year.
It’s also the largest November total since 2022. Because hiring and firing often follow seasonal patterns, economists tend to compare data with the same month in prior years rather than focusing solely on month-to-month moves.
November job-cut announcements have topped 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and 2008, noted Andy Challenger, the firm’s chief revenue officer.
Some of the sectors hit hardest last month included technology, food companies and telecommunications firms. Verizon, one of the country’s largest telecom providers, revealed plans to eliminate 13,000 positions in November.
Typically, the Challenger report carries limited influence in markets because it tracks only publicly announced layoffs, many of which are scheduled for the future rather than occurring immediately. And while the announcements come from U.S.-based companies, the tally also includes planned cuts to overseas roles at multinational firms.
This month’s release, however, is drawing more attention than usual. A government shutdown has sidelined many federal statistical agencies, creating an unusually large gap in official economic data.
As a result, the Challenger report is one of the few labor-market indicators currently available to investors, lawmakers and Federal Reserve officials.
The next official employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is not expected until December 16.
The Challenger figures also arrived a day after ADP reported that private-sector payrolls shrank by a net 32,000 jobs in November. According to ADP, small businesses were especially affected, shedding 120,000 positions.
Another data point released Thursday—weekly initial jobless claims—came in slightly better than analysts had forecast, offering a modest counterweight to the darker signals from layoffs and payrolls.
On Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC that ADP’s weak numbers were not a result of the administration’s broad tariff strategy, but rather stemmed from the recent government shutdown and deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Lutnick predicted that the labor market would “rebalance” and said that “next year, the numbers are going to be fantastic.”
Still, the broader economic pressures have not escaped the Trump administration’s notice. In recent weeks, it has moved to roll back some tariffs on food products.
Inflation has risen every month since April, when Trump introduced his global reciprocal tariffs.
