The number of US layoffs in November plummeted 53% from month to month, but the cumulative total for the whole year hit a new high since 2020

The Zhitong Finance App learned that the US employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas released a report on Thursday saying that US employers announced plans to lay off 71,320 workers in November, down 53% from 153,070 in October, but still up 24% year on year. From January to November of this year, US employers announced plans to lay off 1.17 million workers, an increase of 54% over the same period last year. This figure has reached its highest level since 2020.

According to the report, this is the sixth time since 1993 that the cumulative number of layoffs exceeded 1.1 million by the end of November.

The total number of layoffs in November was the highest in that month since 2022 (76,835 layoffs were announced). This is also the eighth time since this year that the number of monthly layoffs is higher than the same period last year.

Workplace expert and Challenger's chief revenue officer Andy Charinger said, “America's layoff plans did decrease last month, which is certainly a positive sign. However, it should be noted that since 2008, in 2022 and 2008 alone, there were more than 70,000 layoffs in November.”

According to Challenger's tracking data, from 1993 to 2000, the number of layoffs in November remained below 70,000. The number of layoffs soared to over 181,000 in November during the 2001 recession. Until 2009, the November layoff plan remained high, and remained below 70,000 until before the pandemic.

“In the past, announcing layoff plans at the end of the year was a trend to coincide with the end of the fiscal year for most companies,” Challinger said. This practice has gradually become unpopular, especially after the Great Recession, and best practices require that layoff plans avoid holiday periods.”

In November, the number of layoffs due to “business restructuring” was 20,220, totaling 128,260 for the whole year; 17,140 employees were laid off in November due to “closure of stores, business units, or departments”, for a total of 178,530 people.

In November, 6,280 people were laid off due to “artificial intelligence” factors, and the cumulative number of layoffs due to artificial intelligence this year has reached 54,690.

In terms of recruitment, US employers have announced plans to recruit a total of 497,150 people since this year, down 35% from 761,950 in the same period last year. The data includes 372,520 seasonal recruitment plans.

“The increase in consumption over Black Friday and Thanksgiving weekend may drive recruitment demand before the December holiday season, but it is unclear whether these jobs will last beyond the new year,” Challinger said.