Challenger April 2022 Job Cuts Report
Published May 5, 2022
U.S.-based employers announced 24,286 cuts in April, a 14% increase from the 21,387 announced in March and up 6% from the 22,913 cuts announced in April 2021. It is the first time this year job cuts were higher than the corresponding month a year earlier, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Related: Challenger March 2022 Job Cuts Report: Cuts Jump 40% to 21,387
So far this year, employers announced plans to cut 79,982 job cuts, down 52% from the 167,599 cuts announced through the same period in 2021. It is the lowest recorded January-April total since Challenger began tracking monthly job cut announcements in 1993*.
*From 1989-1992, an outside newsletter tracked job cut announcements. Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©
“Job cut plans appear to be on the rise, particularly as companies assess market conditions, inflationary risks, and capital spending,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“Despite this, job openings are still at record highs. Workers who are being cut will have lots of opportunities and will likely land quickly,” he added.
Indeed, the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) for March reported a series-high number of job openings at 11.5 million and 4.5 million quits, another record.
Industries with the Most Cuts
After four consecutive months of Health Care/Products leading job cuts, Entertainment/Leisure led all industries in April with 3,675 job cuts for a total of 6,667 this year. That is a 40% decrease from the 11,149 cuts in this sector announced through April 2021.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©
The Services sector announced the second-most cuts in April with 3,453, followed by Financial companies with 2,772. Retailers announced 2,213 job cuts in April.
Related: What A Difference A Year Makes: April 2021 Job Cuts Fall To 22,913; Lowest Monthly Total Since June 2000
Hiring Announcements
Employers in the United States announced 88,662 hiring plans in April, down 16% from the 105,224 hiring plans in March and up 16% from the 76,345 announced in the same month last year. Hiring plans are up 24% from the 392,578 announced in the first four months of 2021 with 486,603.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©
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Contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld for more data or to set up an interview with SVP Andy Challenger.
U.S. weekly jobless claims rise; productivity plunges at fastest pace in 74 years
By Lucia Mutikani
Published on May 6, 2022
But there are signs that high labor costs are starting to hurt small businesses, especially those in the leisure and hospitality industry. A separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday showed job cuts announced by U.S.-based companies rose 14% to 24,286 in April.
U.S. weekly jobless claims increase; layoffs creep up in April
Published May 5, 2022
But there are signs that high labor costs are starting to hurt small businesses, especially those in the leisure and hospitality industry.
A separate report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday showed job cuts announced by U.S.-based companies increased 14% to 24,286 in April.
The second straight monthly increase in layoffs was led by the leisure and hospitality industry.
“Job cut plans appear to be on the rise, particularly as companies assess market conditions, inflationary risks, and capital spending,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Workers who are being cut will have lots of opportunities and will likely land quickly.”
U.S. unemployment rate remains at pandemic low of 3.6 percent
Employers added 428,000 jobs in April, data shows
published By Abha Bhattarai
May 6, 2022|Updated May 6, 2022 at 1:33 p.m. EDT
Major companies, including Wells Fargo, have begun laying off workers in recent weeks, and others, including Amazon, have said they are overstaffed, further muddying the jobs outlook. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) Overall, U.S. employers announced more than 24,000 job cuts in April, a 14 percent increase from the month before, according to figures released this week by the executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The unemployment rate held steady at 3.6 percent in April, near 50-year lows last hit before the pandemic https://t.co/a9mlLn6B16
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 6, 2022
This Is the Industry Laying Off the Most Americans
Douglas A. McIntyre June 7, 2022
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm, tracks layoffs by month across 19 industries. In April, the most recent month reported, announced job cuts by U.S.-based employers rose 14% to 24,286. For the first four months of the year, announced layoffs dropped 52% from the same period in 2021 to 79,982.
Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, remarked, “Job cut plans appear to be on the rise, particularly as companies assess market conditions, inflationary risks, and capital spending. Despite this, job openings are still at record highs. Workers who are being cut will have lots of opportunities and will likely land quickly.”
To find the industry laying off the most Americans, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the Challenger, Gray & Christmas Job Cuts report and ranked industries by the number of announced job cuts so far this year – January through April 2022.
Job cuts varied widely among the 19 industries the firm tracks and ranged from a few hundred in the first four months to over 10,000. The industry with the highest number of job cuts over the first four months was health care/products, at 15,928, which was up from 8,881 in the same period of 2021. The industry includes hospitals, health care products manufacturers, and other care-related companies.
Laid Off? Make These Financial Moves Right Away
According to the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S.-based employers slashed 24,000 job cuts in April. That’s up 14% from the month before and 6% higher than the same month in 2021.
Help (mostly) wanted: A diverging job market boosts some workers’ prospects and puts others on notice
U.S.-based employers reported more than 24,000 job cuts in April, up 14% from the month before and 6% higher than the same month last year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
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