The employers in the US laid off over 90,000 people in the country in March, making it the highest count since January 2023, Forbes said citing a new report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This marks a 7% jump from the 84,638 cuts announced in February.
How many people were laid off in the US in March?
In March, employers based in the U.S. trimmed 90,309 jobs, marking the highest monthly cut since January 2023 when 102,943 jobs were lost.
Out of these, over a third of these cuts came from federal government roles, totaling 36,044 job losses in the sector. This included 24,000 positions in the U. Army and 10,000 in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The figure accounts for the highest number of government employees laid off in one month since September 2011. This also made the government the largest single job cutter in March.
Which other sectors saw the layoffs?
A total of 257,254 jobs have been cut this year, the Challenger reported. Even as March saw the highest cuts since January 2023, the overall figure has fallen as compared to the previous year. At this point in 2023, a total of 270,416 jobs had been eliminated.
The technology sector has spearheaded the quarter in job cuts with 42,442, placing the government in second position, followed by financial firms in third, having lost 28,715 jobs so far this year.
Most of the job losses in the initial quarter were attributed to cost-cutting measures, around 66,303, with restructuring accounting for 48,352 lost jobs, and an additional 38,619 announced due to unit and store closures.