By
Pete Syme
New
Every time Pete publishes a story, you’ll get an alert straight to your inbox!
By clicking “Sign up”, you agree to receive emails from Business Insider. In addition, you accept Insider’s
Terms of Service and
Privacy Policy.
Follow Pete Syme
- 2025 has seen over 1.1 million job cuts in the US so far, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
- The firm said it was just the sixth time since 1993 that the figure had passed 1.1 million.
- It's also the most layoffs in a year since 2020, when the COVID pandemic upended the labor market.
This year has seen the most layoffs in the US since the pandemic, according to the consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Employers have announced 1.17 million job cuts through November, a report published on Thursday showed.
It's just the sixth time since 1993 that this figure has exceeded 1.1 million.
2025 has seen the fifth-highest number of job cuts. The most were seen in 2020, when the labor market was upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. 2020 marks the only time there were more than 2 million job cuts through November.
After 2020 and 2025, the worst years for job cuts in the past three decades were 2001, 2002, and 2009, when the financial crisis led to mass layoffs.
The report found US employers announced 71,321 job cuts in November — up 24% from the same period last year.
"Job cuts in November have risen above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008," said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The firm said that telecommunications companies cut the most jobs last month, at over 15,000, followed by some 12,000 layoffs in tech.
