US Job Cuts at 3-Month High

US-based employers announced 60,620 job cuts in March 2026, above 48,307 in February but well below 275,240 a year earlier. The technology sector recorded by far the highest number of job cuts in March (18,720), followed by pharmaceuticals (5,356), education (5,258), and financial (5,114). Artificial Intelligence (AI) led all reasons for job cuts, with 15,341 announced during the month, 25% of total cuts. Considering Q1, employers announced 217,362 job cuts, the lowest Q1 total since 2022, and down 16% from Q4 2025. “Removing the wave of federal layoffs announced in February and March of last year, job cut announcements in 2026 are closely following the pattern of 2025. Last year it was Government, Retail, and Technology. This year, it’s Technology, Transportation, and Healthcare,” said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

US-based employers announced 48,307 job cuts in February 2026, less than 108,435 in January and well below 172,017 a year earlier. Tech announced the most cuts (11,039), as "tech is responding to a number of pressures right now. AI is the big story, but there are also global regulatory concerns, a slowdown in digital advertising driven by tariffs and economic uncertainty, and higher costs to both employ workers and access funding” said said Andy Challenger, Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Education followed with 5,417 job cuts and industrial manufacturing announced 4,109 cuts. “With US involvement in a growing war in Iran, the end of Q1 may bring more layoff plans as companies tighten belts amid uncertainty and higher costs,” Andy Challenger added. Through February, employers announced 156,742 job cuts, the lowest January-to-February total since 2022. The tech sector led job cuts so far this year (33.330), followed by transportation (31,702) and health care/products (19,228).

US-based employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January 2026, the highest level since October and the largest January total since 2009, compared to 33,553 cuts announced in December. “Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in Q1, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026,” said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Transportation announced the highest number (31,243), primarily due to UPS. The company announced it would cut 30K jobs after severing ties with Amazon. Technology announced 22,291 job cuts, with the bulk coming from Amazon (16K) as it restructures its layers of management. Healthcare companies and health products manufacturers announced 17,107 cuts, the most for the industry since April 2020. Meanwhile, employers announced 5,306 hiring plans, the lowest total for the month since records began in 2009.