Layoffs in the US reach a record

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a consulting firm that tracks announced or confirmed layoffs, has released its February report.

According to the report, layoffs by US employers, which stood at 102,943 in January, fell 24 percent monthly to 77,770 in February.

In February, layoffs increased 410 percent compared to the same period last year. Last month, layoffs by US employers hit their highest value in February since 2009.

AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL

In the January-February period, layoffs amounted to 180,713 with an increase of 427 percent compared to the first 2 months of 2022, and this value was registered as the largest bimonthly layoff since 2009.

Technology companies made 28 percent of the layoffs announced in February. Last month, most of the employees in this sector were laid off.

The healthcare industry, which includes hospitals and manufacturers of healthcare products, also accounted for about 13 percent of all layoffs last month.

Retail, finance, fintech and media also drew attention as other sectors with the most layoffs in February.

HIRING PLANS DECREASE

The number of employees companies announced they plan to hire decreased 12 percent in February from the previous month to 28,830. The number of planned hires last month also fell 87 percent year-over-year.

Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, whose views are included in the report, noted that employers are paying attention to the US Federal Reserve’s (Fed) interest rate hike plans and that Companies are making plans to cut costs, and layoffs are often the last part of cost-cutting strategies.

Stating that there are major layoffs at tech companies, Challenger reported that layoffs occurred in all 30 sectors tracked by the company in February. (AA)