Published June 5, 2025

U.S.-based employers announced 93,816 job cuts in May, down 12% from 105,441 cuts in April, and up 47% from 63,816 announced in the same month last year, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies’ workforces. Companies are spending less, slowing hiring, and sending layoff notices,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Through May, employers have announced 696,309 job cuts, an increase of 80% from the 385,859 announced in the first five months of last year. It is 65,049 cuts away from matching the entire year’s total for 2024.

Which Industries are Cutting the Most in May?

Services

The Services sector, which includes companies that service other companies such as commercial cleaning services and temporary staffing firms, announced 22,492 job cuts in May. This is the highest monthly total for the industry since May 2020, when 34,229 cuts were recorded. For the year, the sector has announced plans to cut 44,273 jobs, up 79% from the 24,770 cuts announced through this period last year.

Retail

Retailers followed with 11,483 job cut plans for a total of 75,802. This is a 274% increase from the 20,276 Retail job cuts announced in the first five months of 2024. Retail is the second-leading industry in job cuts this year behind the Government.

Technology

Technology continues to be a leading job-cut sector as it faces mounting and rapidly changing disruptions. Technology companies announced 10,598 job cuts in May for a total of 74,716 cuts in 2025. This is up 35% from the 55,207 cuts announced during the same period last year.

Non-Profits

Non-profits are being hit hard by losses in federal Government funding as well as rising costs and a shaky economy. These entities announced plans to cut 8,565 jobs in May for a total of 14,018 this year. That’s an increase of 504% from the 2,320 announced by this point in 2024.

Media & News Cuts

The Media industry has announced 4,107 cuts so far in 2025, down 51% from the 8,410 cuts announced in the first five months of last year.

News, which Challenger tracks as a subset of Media and includes broadcast, digital, and print, has announced 1,035 job cuts so far this year, down 54% from the 2,239 cuts announced during the same period last year.

Why are Companies Cutting in 2025?

“DOGE Impact” remains the leading reason for job cut announcements in 2025, cited in 284,044 planned layoffs so far this year. This includes direct reductions to the Federal workforce and its contractors. Additionally, DOGE Downstream Impact, such as the loss of funding to private Non-Profits, was cited in another 10,459 cuts.

Market and Economic Conditions were the second-most cited reason for workforce reductions, responsible for 131,257 cuts year to date, followed by Closings of stores, units, or plants, which led to 94,439 layoffs.

Restructuring accounted for 62,015 cuts, while Bankruptcy was attributed to 35,501. Notably, Technological Updates, including those related to AI implementation, led to 20,000 job cuts so far in 2025.

Where Are Job Cuts Occurring This Year?

Challenger tracks job cuts by company headquarters location, unless an announcement specifies the geographic location of the layoffs.

So far in 2025, the East region has experienced the largest year-over-year increase in job cuts, surging 234% from 121,055 to 404,523. This dramatic rise is largely due to significant reductions at Federal agencies headquartered in Washington, D.C., which account for 285,723 cuts alone. Other notable increases include New Jersey, which jumped from 4,040 to 22,239 cuts (a 450% increase), and New York, which rose 36% from 47,776 to 65,027. Meanwhile, some states saw sharp declines: Connecticut dropped from 7,576 to 1,215, Vermont declined 71%, and Massachusetts fell 26%.

The Midwest region saw a slight overall decline in job cuts, down 2.6% from 68,187 in 2024 to 66,416 in 2025. However, trends varied significantly by state. Ohio reported a 78% increase, rising from 15,547 to 27,671, and Nebraska surged from 489 to 4,374. On the other hand, Michigan fell 40%, Wisconsin dropped 73%, and Illinois declined by 33%.

In the West region, job cuts remained relatively steady, with a slight increase of 4.8%, rising from 150,105 in 2024 to 157,252 in 2025. California led the region with 93,586 cuts this year, up 42% from 65,798 last year. Arizona nearly doubled its total, while Washington remained largely flat. Notable decreases occurred in Nevada (down 84%) and Oregon (down 84%), and several states such as Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming reported minimal or no activity.

The South region reported a 46% increase in job cuts, rising from 46,512 in 2024 to 68,118 in 2025. Georgia posted one of the largest increases, with cuts jumping from 15,317 to 26,354 (up 72%). Florida and Tennessee also saw significant increases, while Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina remained relatively stable or experienced slight declines.

Hiring Plans in 2025

Through May 2025, U.S. employers have announced 79,741 planned hires, up 57% from the 50,833 announced at this point in 2024. Though companies have announced more hiring plans this year than last, it remains historically low when compared to pre-pandemic and early-pandemic years.

“The current 2025 hiring pace is more aligned with 2012 (50,194 YTD) and 2013 (180,012 YTD) than with the rebound years of 2021–2022, suggesting that, while companies are adding workers, they are doing so cautiously,” said Challenger.

Historical Hiring Comparison

• 2023 YTD: 101,833 hires
• 2022 YTD: 612,686 hires
• 2021 YTD: 441,696 hires
• 2020 YTD: 1,260,661 hires

# # #

Contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld for more data or to set up an interview with SVP Andy Challenger.