Economy: Challenger Job Cuts Report for April 2025

Friday, May 02, 2025

Challenger Job Cuts Report for April 2025

The global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc. released its job cuts report, for April 2025:

-------------------------------

Job Cuts Announced During March 2025: 105,441

Previous Month: 275,240

> Change from previous month: -61.69% (-169,799 cuts)

--------------

One-Year Previous: 64,789

> Change from one-year previous: +62.75% (+40,652 cuts)

===================

From Today's Report:

"...So far this year, employers have announced 602,493, the highest year-to-date total since 2020 when 1,017,812 job cuts were recorded. It is up 87% from the 322,043 cuts announced during the same period in 2024.

The Government leads all sectors in job cuts this year with 282,227, 281,452 of which are attributed to DOGE-related cost-cutting. This is up 680% from the 36,195 job cuts announced in this sector through April 2024.

In April, the number of job cuts announced in this industry was 2,782. DOGE actions were attributed to 2,731, while the rest were attributed to 'Economic Conditions' and 'Cost-Cutting.'

'DOGE Actions' lead all job cut reasons in 2025 with 283,172, 2,919 of which occurred in April. Another 6,945 cuts were attributed to 'DOGE Downstream Impact' through April, primarily at Non-Profits and Education organizations. These reasons combined (290,117) make up 48% of all job cuts announced so far in 2025..."

================

If corporate layoffs are high, consumer spending may decline, since there would be fewer people with steady jobs.

When corporate layoffs are low, this can mean that the job market is relatively tight, which can be a harbinger of wage inflation.

================