October Layoffs at Three-Year Low; Seasonal Hiring Plans Up 26%
Publication date: Nov 05OCTOBER LAYOFFS LOWEST FOR THE MONTH SINCE 2023; SEASONAL HIRING PLANS JUMP 26%, LED BY RECORD AMAZON ANNOUNCEMENT, CONCENTRATED TO FEWER COMPANIES
U.S.-based employers announced 43,994 job cuts in October, up 2% from the 43,281 cuts announced in September. It is down 71% from the 153,074 job cuts announced in October 2025, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
October’s total is the lowest for the month since 2023, when 36,836 cuts were announced, and below the 56,348 average for October from 2015 to 2025. It is the eighth month this year in which cuts came in below the same month one year earlier.
Through October, employers have announced 617,189 job cuts, down 44% from the 1,099,500 cuts announced in the first 10 months of 2025. It is the lowest year-to-date total through October since 2022, when 243,338 cuts were announced.
“This is a low-fire environment. Employers are holding on to the workers they have heading into the holidays, and the hiring they are announcing is largely short-term, seasonal work. Companies want the flexibility to meet holiday demand without adding permanent headcount,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Which industries Cut the Most in September?
Food
Food companies led all industries in October with 9,677 job cuts, the sector’s highest monthly total this year. Food has announced 39,370 cuts in 2026, up 43% from the 27,457 announced through October 2025. It is the highest January-to-October total for the sector since at least 2012.
Technology
Technology announced 5,576 cuts in October, its lowest monthly total of the year. Even so, the sector leads all industries with 171,501 cuts through October, up 21% from the 141,159 announced in the same period last year. Technology has already surpassed the 154,445 cuts it announced in all of 2025 and accounts for 28% of all cuts this year.
Microsoft also announced voluntary exit offers (VEOs) to 60,000 employees in October. Challenger records voluntary programs by the number of employees who accept an offer or by a company’s stated reduction target, so the offers are not included in October’s total.
“These offers tend to signal more layoffs to come. Voluntary exit offers are a softer way to shrink. They let a company reduce headcount while giving employees a choice and a cushion,” said Challenger.
Services
The Services sector, which includes companies that provide support to other businesses such as cleaning, staffing, and outsourcing firms, announced 5,458 job cuts in October. Year to date, the sector has announced 35,542 cuts, down 44% from the 63,580 announced through October 2025.
FinTech
FinTech firms announced 4,173 cuts in October, bringing the year-to-date total to 11,979. That is up 543% from the 1,863 cuts announced in this sector through October 2025.
Retail
Retailers announced 3,692 job cuts in October, the most for the sector since June 2025, when 4,063 cuts were announced. For the year, Retail has announced 18,126 cuts, down 80% from the 88,664 announced through October 2025. Retailers also announced 13,300 hiring plans in October.
“Retailers cutting jobs at the same time they are staffing up for the holidays tells you where the pressure is. Companies are trimming permanent roles and leaning on seasonal workers to cover the busiest weeks of the year,” said Challenger.
Consumer Products
Consumer Products companies announced 3,672 job cuts in October. For the year, the sector has announced 34,324 cuts, down 16% from the 41,033 announced through October 2025.
Transportation
Transportation has announced the second-most cuts of any industry this year with 44,838, up 188% from the 15,544 announced through October 2025. It is the highest January-to-October total for the sector since 2020, when 159,674 cuts were announced.
Media & News
The Media industry has announced 5,559 cuts so far in 2026, down 67% from the 16,680 cuts announced in the first 10 months of last year.
News, which Challenger tracks as a subset of Media and includes broadcast, digital, and print, has announced 2,019 job cuts so far this year, 118 of which occurred in October. That is down 3% from the 2,075 News cuts announced through October 2025. October’s 118 News cuts are down 65% from the 337 recorded in October 2025.
WHICH INDUSTRIES ARE CUTTING THE MOST IN 2026?
Technology leads all industries with 171,501 cuts announced through October, followed by Transportation with 44,838, Food with 39,370, Health Care/Products with 37,737, and Services with 35,542.
Twenty-two of the 30 industries Challenger tracks have announced fewer cuts than they did at this point last year. The decline is steepest in Government, down 93% to 23,049. Retail is down 80%, and Warehousing is down 77% to 20,551.
The increases are concentrated in Technology, up 21%; Transportation, up 188%; Food, up 43%; and FinTech, up 543%.
Where Are Companies Cutting?
California led all states in October with 10,032 job cuts, down 29% from the 14,206 announced in October 2025. Year to date, California employers have announced 124,850 cuts, down 21% from the 158,734 announced through October 2025. The state accounts for 20% of all cuts announced this year.
Washington followed with 7,233 cuts in October, bringing its year-to-date total to 59,546, down 23% from the 77,658 announced in the same period last year. New York announced 4,671 cuts in October, up from 1,273 in October 2025, and Ohio announced 4,592, up from 860. Michigan rounded out the top five with 2,937.
By region, the West accounted for 20,227 of October’s cuts, or 46% of the total. The East announced 9,794, the Midwest 9,668 and the South 4,305.
Among states with at least 10,000 cuts this year, the largest increases are in Michigan, up 89% to 36,564, and Tennessee, up 68% to 19,446. Texas is essentially flat at 46,528, compared with 46,352 through October 2025. Georgia is down 46% to 42,435, New York is down 54% to 37,378 and New Jersey is down 52% to 31,022.
Through October, cuts are down in all four regions. The West has announced 265,340 cuts, down 18% from the 323,791 announced through October 2025, and accounts for 43% of all cuts this year. Cuts are down 75% in the East to 125,156, driven by a 96% drop in the District of Columbia, where federal workforce reductions drove last year’s total. The South is down 20% to 123,987, and the Midwest is down 12% to 102,706.
Overall, cuts are higher than last year in 24 states and lower in 26 states and the District of Columbia.
Why Are Companies Cutting?
Market/Economic Conditions led all reasons in October for the second consecutive month, cited for 16,407 cuts, or 37% of the total. With 130,531 cuts so far this year, Market/Economic Conditions has overtaken Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the leading reason for job cuts in 2026.
Closings accounted for 10,250 cuts in October and 109,342 for the year. Demand Downturn was cited for 6,118 cuts in October, bringing the year-to-date total to 21,347, up 145% from the 8,701 cuts attributed to this reason through October 2025. Restructuring was cited for 5,499 cuts in October (85,391 through October 2026).
AI was cited for 1,265 cuts in October, its lowest monthly total this year. AI has been cited in 121,401 job cut announcements so far in 2026, approximately 20% of all cuts. Since 2023, when Challenger began tracking AI as a distinct reason, it has been cited in 193,226 job cuts.
“The reasons employers give have shifted from technology to the economy. AI dominated layoff announcements through the spring and summer, but this fall companies are pointing to demand and economic conditions. That is a more cautious signal, though the overall pace of cutting remains low,” said Challenger.
Hiring Plans in 2026
Employers announced plans to hire 444,692 workers in October, up 57% from the 283,138 plans announced in October 2025. It is the highest October total since at least 2009.
So far this year, companies have announced plans to hire 655,304 workers, up 34% from the 488,077 plans announced through October 2025.
Technology led all industries in October with 300,252 announced hires, followed by Transportation with 100,000 and Retail with 13,300. For the year, Technology leads with 322,613, followed by Transportation with 101,505 and Retail with 79,857.
Seasonal Hiring
Included in Challenger’s hiring figure are 470,400 seasonal hiring plans through October (Table 8), up 26% from the 372,520 announced through October 2025, which was the lowest total since Challenger began tracking seasonal hiring in 2012. Seasonal plans remain below the 660,150 announced in 2024.
Amazon led seasonal announcements with plans to hire 300,000 workers, 50,000 more than the 250,000 the company announced in each of the previous three years. It is the largest single seasonal hiring announcement Challenger has tracked. UPS announced 100,000 seasonal hires after making no announcement last year.
Challenger tracks Amazon in the Technology sector. Although its seasonal positions are in warehousing and e-commerce fulfillment, Amazon’s seasonal hiring plans are counted as Technology hiring. Amazon’s 300,000 seasonal hires account for nearly all of the 300,252 Technology hiring plans announced in October.
Seasonal plans are concentrated among fewer employers: five companies have announced seasonal hiring so far this year, compared with 11 at this point last year. Seasonal positions account for 72% of all hiring plans announced in 2026 and nearly 60% of the 167,227 increase in hiring plans over last year.
Seasonal Hiring Announcements Arriving Later
The timing of seasonal hiring announcements has shifted. Large seasonal plans have typically been announced in September. This year, employers announced 90,787 hiring plans in September, the lowest September total since 2011, when 76,551 were announced. Amazon and UPS, the two largest seasonal announcements, came in October.
From 2012 through 2024, September accounted for at least 60% of the hiring plans announced in September and October combined. That share fell to 29% in 2025 and 17% this year.
“Seasonal employers are staggering their announcements and waiting longer to see how the season shakes out before they commit to numbers. They are not cutting deeply, but they are not committing to permanent headcount, either. Seasonal roles give companies the capacity they need for the holidays with an end date built in,” said Challenger.
