US employers have announced 10,049 hiring plans in April 2026, down 69% from 32,826 in March and 38% less than in April 2025. Government led April hiring with 2,350 announced positions, followed by Technology with 1,980 and Food with 1,348. So far this year, employers have announced plans to hire 60,936 workers, down 13% from 70,058 new hires announced during the same period in 2025. source: Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc.

Hiring Plans Announcements in the United States averaged 87963.85 Persons from 2011 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 939790.00 Persons in September of 2021 and a record low of 1494.00 Persons in August of 2025. This page includes a chart with historical data for the United States Hiring Plans Announcements. United States Challenger Hiring Plans Announcements - values, historical data and charts - was last updated on May of 2026.

Related	Last	Previous	Unit	Reference
ADP Employment Change	109.00	61.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Average Hourly Earnings MoM	0.20	0.20	percent	Apr 2026
Average Hourly Earnings YoY	3.60	3.40	percent	Apr 2026
Average Weekly Hours	34.30	34.20	Hours	Apr 2026
Challenger Job Cuts	83387.00	60620.00	Persons	Apr 2026
Continuing Jobless Claims	1766.00	1776.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Employed Persons	162622.00	162848.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Employment Cost Index	0.90	0.70	percent	Mar 2026
Employment Cost - Benefits	1.20	0.80	percent	Mar 2026
Employment Cost - Wages	0.80	0.70	percent	Mar 2026
Employment Rate	59.10	59.20	percent	Apr 2026
Full Time Employment	134676.00	134341.00	Thousand	Mar 2026
Government Payrolls	-8.00	-5.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Challenger Hiring Plans	10049.00	32826.00	Persons	Apr 2026
Initial Jobless Claims	200.00	190.00	Thousand	May 2026
Job Layoffs and Discharges	1867.00	1714.00	Thousand	Mar 2026
JOLTs Job Openings	6866.00	6922.00	Thousand	Mar 2026
JOLTs Job Quits	3171.00	3046.00	Thousand	Mar 2026
Job Quits Rate	2.00	1.90	Percent	Mar 2026
Job Openings	6685.00	6679.00	Thousand	Mar 2026
Jobless Claims 4-week Average	203.25	207.75	Thousand	May 2026
Participation Rate	61.80	61.90	percent	Apr 2026
Labour Costs	122.55	121.72	points	Dec 2025
Long Term Unemployment Rate	1.08	1.07	percent	Apr 2026
Manufacturing Payrolls	-2.00	15.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Minimum Wages	7.25	7.25	USD/Hour	Dec 2025
Non Farm Payrolls	115.00	185.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Nonfarm Payrolls Private	123.00	190.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Nonfarm Productivity	0.80	1.60	percent	Mar 2026
Part Time Employment	28290.00	28478.00	Thousand	Mar 2026
Population	342.28	340.97	Million	Dec 2025
Productivity	119.58	119.35	points	Mar 2026
Retirement Age Men	67.00	66.83	Years	Dec 2026
Retirement Age Women	67.00	66.83	Years	Dec 2026
U-6 Unemployment Rate	8.20	8.00	percent	Apr 2026
Unemployed Persons	7373.00	7239.00	Thousand	Apr 2026
Unemployment Rate	4.30	4.30	percent	Apr 2026
Unit Labour Costs	2.30	4.60	percent	Mar 2026
Wage Growth	4.10	4.23	percent	Mar 2026
Wages	32.23	32.12	USD/Hour	Apr 2026
Wages in Manufacturing	30.10	29.97	USD/Hour	Apr 2026
Youth Unemployment Rate	9.50	8.50	percent	Apr 2026

United States Challenger Hiring Plans Announcements

The Challenger Job-Cut Report provides information on the total number of announced corporate layoffs. Produced by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., this monthly report collects and categorizes announcements of corporate layoffs using mass layoff data from state departments of labor.