Last month’s total is 33.5% lower than the 75,644 cuts announced in the same month last year. October was the second consecutive month during which cuts were lower in 2019 than in the corresponding month one year earlier.
Employers have announced plans to cut 515,441 jobs from their payrolls, 16.6% higher than the 441,702 cuts announced through October last year. It is the highest January-October total since 2015, when 543,935 cuts were announced.
“For the most part, job cut announcements are holding steady as we enter the final quarter of the year. We’ve seen increases in certain industries, particularly those experiencing disruptions from new technologies, uncertainty from government regulation or issues with trade, or slumping from demand shifts,” said Andrew Challenger, Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.