Job cuts in US surge 60% in March, highest since 2009

Investing.com -- U.S. employers reported 275,240 job cuts in March, marking a 60% increase from the previous month and a 205% rise from the same month in 2024. This is according to a report released on Thursday by the global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

In March, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) dominated job cut announcements with plans to eliminate positions in the federal government. Over the past two months, DOGE actions have resulted in 280,253 planned layoffs of federal workers and contractors across 27 agencies. An additional 4,429 job cuts have occurred due to the downstream effect of reducing federal aid or terminating contracts, primarily affecting Non-Profits and Health organizations.

The total job cuts in March rank as the third-highest monthly total ever recorded, with the highest occurring in April 2020 with 671,129 cuts, followed by May 2020 with 397,016. This is the highest total for the month of March on record since Challenger started reporting on job cut plans in 1989.

The total job cuts announced this year have reached 497,052, marking the highest year-to-date and quarterly total since Q1 2009, when 578,510 job cuts were announced. This is a 93% increase from the 257,254 cuts announced during the same period in 2024 and a 227% increase from the 152,116 cuts announced in the previous quarter.

The Government sector led all sectors in job cuts in March with 216,215, all of which occurred in the federal government. This year, the Government has cut 279,445 jobs, marking a 672% increase from the 36,195 cuts announced in the first quarter of 2024.

The Technology sector announced 15,055 job cuts in March, a 3% increase from the previous month. This year, Technology companies have announced a total of 37,097 cuts, a 14% decrease from the same period last year.

Retailers announced 11,709 cuts in March and 57,804 in the first quarter, making it the second-leading industry in job cuts this year. This marks a 370% increase from the 12,148 Retail job cuts announced in Q1 2024.

Consumer products manufacturers and Auto makers have announced 14,619 and 7,146 job cuts respectively so far in 2025. These figures represent a 54% increase from the same time last year for Consumer products manufacturers and a 28% increase for Auto makers.

Financial firms have cut 15,982 jobs so far this year, a 44% decrease from the same period last year. The Media industry has announced 1,820 cuts so far in 2025, a 74% decrease from the first three months of last year.

The primary reason for job cuts this year is the "DOGE Impact" with 280,253, followed by Market/Economic Conditions with 47,851 job cuts attributed to this reason in the first quarter.

So far this year, the East region has seen a sharp increase in job cuts, primarily due to the cuts conducted by DOGE. The East experienced a 277% year-over-year increase from 94,406 to 355,992. The District of Columbia saw the largest increase from 34,120 in the first quarter of 2024 to 278,711 in 2025.

Meanwhile, companies’ hiring plans fell in March from 34,580 in February to 13,198. So far this year, companies plan to hire 53,867 workers, a 16% decrease from the 64,163 new hires announced in the first quarter of 2024. This is the lowest Q1 hiring total since 2012 when 52,540 new hiring plans were announced.

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