Published February 2, 2023
U.S.-based employers announced 102,943 cuts in January, a 136% increase from the 43,651 cuts announced in December. It is 440% higher than the 19,064 cuts announced in the same month in 2022, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Last month’s total is the highest January total since 2009, when 241,749 were announced in the first month of the year. It is the highest monthly total since September 2020 when 118,804 job cuts were reported.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“We’re now on the other side of the hiring frenzy of the pandemic years,” said Andrew Challenger, labor expert and Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“Companies are preparing for an economic slowdown, cutting workers and slowing hiring,” he added.
Which Industries Are Cutting?
The Technology sector announced the most cuts with 41,829, 41% of all cuts announced in January. It is 158% higher than the 16,193 cuts announced in December 2022, and 57,996% higher than the 72 tracked in January 2022. Since November 2022, which saw the highest monthly total for the sector since Challenger began tracking in 1993 with 52,771, Technology companies have announced 110,793 job cuts. January’s total is the second-highest for the sector on record.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Retailers announced the second-most cuts in January with 13,000, up 3,225% from the 391 announced in the same month in 2022. Financial firms announced 10,603 cuts last month, up 1,423% from the 696 cuts announced in January 2022.
As housing demand and prices fall, the Real Estate industry cut 2,191 cuts last month, up 1,314% from the 155 cuts announced in December 2022 and up 805% from the 242 announced in the same month a year ago. The Construction sector announced 1,138 cuts last month, up 92% from the 592 announced one month prior. No cuts were tracked for Construction firms in January 2022.
Media & News Cuts
The Media industry announced 754 cuts in January, the highest monthly total since 1,001 cuts were announced in June 2021. Of those, 360 were in digital, print, and broadcast News organizations, similar to the 362 News cuts announced in December, but up significantly from zero recorded in January 2022.
January Hiring Plans
In January, employers announced plans to hire 32,764 workers, primarily in Entertainment/Leisure. This is down 58% from the 77,630 announced in January 2022 and down 37% from the 51,693 new jobs employers announced in December of last year.
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January jobs report: We continue to see ‘a lot of hiring,’ Challenger, Gray & Christmas SVP says
Published February 3, 2023
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. SVP Andrew Challenger joins Yahoo Finance Live anchor Rachelle Akuffo to discuss the January jobs report, over-hiring, where jobs are being added, the state of the labor market, and the economy.
Why employers are inflating job titles – mostly for Gen Z
Job titles are certainly more important in some industries than others, said Andy Challenger, senior vp at Chicago-based global outplacement and career transitioning firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
“Areas like finance, where job titles are a little bit more the same from institution to institution, they can mean a lot to people that are moving from one company to another,” he said. “If you get that director title, it stays with you forever,” he said.
Younger workers, especially those in Generation Z, may be prime targets for this practice as their expectations misalign with employers, according to that report.
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It’s also worth mentioning that “bumping job titles up doesn’t always mean nothing,” Challenger said.
Some companies tie stock options or other more tangible benefits and forms of compensation to an employee’s title or level at the organizations, he said.
“Many companies have specific perks and benefits that you only get access to at a certain job title range,” he said.
