Job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers fell to 44,569 in November, 11.3% lower than the 50,275 cuts announced in October, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Last month’s total is 16% lower than the 53,073 cuts announced in the same month last year.
Employers have announced plans to cut 559,713 jobs from their payrolls, 13.1% higher than the 494,775 cuts announced through November last year. It is the highest January-November total since 2015, when 574,888 cuts were announced. Job cuts announced in 2019 have already surpassed the full-year total in 2018, when 538,659 cuts were announced.
“Employers did not make large-scale job cut plans in November. While concerns of a downturn may linger, consumer confidence is strong and companies are holding on to their employees in a tight labor market,” said Andrew Challenger, Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
November cuts were led by the Technology sector, which announced 7,292 cuts last month. So far this year, Technology companies have announced plans to cut 63,447 jobs from their payrolls, the third-highest total for any industry through November. The Technology sector’s total is 380% higher than the 13,222 cuts announced in this industry in the same period last year.
