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Andy Challenger Talks Challenger Report Data and How to Prepare for Layoff Season
It’s December, which means more than just cooler weather and holiday celebrations. It’s also layoffs season.
Job cuts tend to spike in December and January as companies prepare for structural changes heading into the new year, as shown by data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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But certain jobs are more at risk than others. The tech industry, which saw an influx of layoffs last year, is still slashing jobs, with Layoffs.fyi tracking more than 250,000 tech layoffs so far this year.
“The industry was really hiring at such a rapid pace for two years, that as the economy started to come down a little bit, cool a little bit, they really started to do layoffs quickly,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
He added that while certain industries are getting hit harder, “we’ve seen a very clear cooling trend in the labor market this year with an increase in layoffs across every sector we track.”
Media is another industry still experiencing layoffs. Challenger, Gray & Christmas in October reported more than 19,000 cuts in the industry between January and September, up 550% from the same period last year.
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A recent report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows retail, health care and products manufacturers (including hospitals) and financial firms are also some of the leading industries to announce job cuts this year.
Affected employees may have a harder time finding work now compared to those who went through layoffs last year. Continued jobless claims have been rising and hit 1.93 million in the week ended Nov. 18, according to the Labor Department. It’s the highest rate in about two years, which indicates hiring is slowing and people are staying unemployed longer.
Advice for employees
So what’s an employee to do?
Challenger said this time of year is a good time to network, which can help boost workers’ chances of securing a new job should they get laid off.
“When a post gets put online and there’s 1,000 resumes for it in five minutes, it’s really hard to stand out. But if you can meet somebody at a company you want to work for and ask for a referral, you get put to the top of that pile,” he said. “That’s a great way to give yourself more opportunities.”
Challenger offers expert guidance to those seeking new positions
Challenger’s 38th annual national hotline provides job search advice to those looking for new positions. It will be held on December 26th and 27th, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. CT. The phone number is 312-422-5010 for English speakers and 312-422-5020 for Spanish speakers.
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SVP Andy Challenger is available for interviews on the job market, economy, and job search process. Please contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld for more information.
