Here’s Where Job Cuts Are Happening–and Why

Layoffs are low overall, but some companies are still cutting jobs in an effort to “do more with less,” according to a new report.  

U.S. employers cut 90,309 jobs in March, per the global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas–the highest monthly total since January 2023 and up 7 percent from February.  

The leading culprit? The technology sector, bringing in 42,442 job cut announcements so far this year–though that’s still down 59 percent from the 102,391 announced in last year’s first quarter.  

But another major contributor was the government, which eliminated 36,044 jobs in March alone, primarily from Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Army, according to the report. This also marked the highest number of monthly job cuts in government since September 2011. 

Financial firms and companies in the services and transportation sectors also slashed thousands of jobs this quarter.  

Reasons for the cuts varied, but cost cutting was the most common in the first quarter. “Many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in the report.  

And yet, weekly unemployment claims–considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs–have remained historically low for months, even despite this week’s two-month high. The unemployment rate, meanwhile, has remained below 4 percent for 25 consecutive months–pointing to a still-strong labor market.  

Tomorrow’s jobs report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will shine further light on the state of the labor market–and could herald if more cuts are coming.