US job cuts fall to lowest level since July 2024

Layoffs in the United States fell to their lowest level since July 2024 in December, as companies made plans to increase hiring, easing concerns about a slowdown in the labor market.

US employers cut 35,550 jobs in December, down 50% from the number of layoffs announced in November, according to a report released on Thursday by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Compared with the same month in 2024, total layoffs were down 8%, marking the fourth time over the past year that planned job cuts declined on a year-on-year basis, the report showed.

For the full year, employers announced plans to cut 1.206 million jobs, up 58% from 2024, when 761,000 layoffs were announced, marking the highest annual total since 2020.

The public sector led job cut announcements last year, with the government reporting 308,100 layoffs, up 703% from 2024.

The technology sector also announced 154,440 job cuts in 2025, with Challenger attributing the elevated layoffs to companies’ accelerating adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.