Layoffs have quadrupled since last year, with media and tech suffering the worst blows. Media has had a record number of year-to-date cuts while tech job losses were the highest since 2001, according to a new report from recruiting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Every industry increased layoffs this year, except for education, government, industrial manufacturing, and utilities. Tech led the May surge with over 22,000 layoffs for the month, up 2,939% from the same period last year. The total number of layoffs in May was up 20% from April.
So far this year, tech has cut 136,831 jobs, compared to 168,395 for all of 2001, amid the tech industry’s collapse.
Companies overall have eliminated 417,500 jobs since January, the highest five-month total since 2020. Excluding 2020, the start of the pandemic, the year thus far has had the most layoffs since 2009 amid the financial crisis.
Still, the national unemployment rate is at just 3.4%, the lowest it’s been since 1969.
The media industry’s record of 17,436 year-to-date cuts just surpasses the previous record set in May 2020. Within media, the news industry has seen a particularly difficult year. Nearly 2,000 people have lost their jobs in news this year, eclipsing the tally for all of 2022.
Plans by companies to hire over the remainder of the year are down from last year as well. The labor market seems to be slowing due to inflation, high interest rates, and fears of recession, as companies announced plans to hire just over 100,000 workers this year, down 83% from what they said in May 2022. This is the lowest level of anticipated hiring in nearly three years, during the pandemic.
“Job openings are flattening. Companies appear to be putting the brakes on hiring in anticipation of a slowdown,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in the report.
The banking and retail industries also took a hit, with banks announcing nearly 37,000 job cuts through May, quadruple the figure at the same time last year. Retail endured the second-highest industry cuts during May, eliminating over 9,000 jobs last month.
Layoffs were concentrated in certain locations. California, home of Silicon Valley, was hit the hardest, with job cuts up tenfold from last year to a staggering 151,300 as of last month. New York followed, with a third as many layoffs as California.
Consumer confidence is at a six-month low as well. In response to the May debt ceiling standoff, outlooks for both business and labor declined, remaining solidly below pre-pandemic levels.