Layoffs announced by employers declined on a monthly basis in November but still pushed the 2025 total to the highest level since the wave of pandemic-induced layoffs in 2020, new data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows.
The report found that U.S. employers announced 71,321 layoffs in November — down 53% from the 153,074 cuts announced in October.
Layoffs in the month of November were up 24% from the 57,727 cuts announced in that month last year, and reached their highest level for the month since 2022, which marked the eighth time this year that job cuts in a given month were higher than the corresponding month a year ago.
“Layoff plans fell last month. Certainly a positive sign. That said, job cuts in November have risen above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
SMALL BUSINESSES LEAD NOVEMBER JOB LOSSES AS TARIFF UNCERTAINTY WEIGHS ON HIRING
Historically, job cuts in November were below 70,000 from 1993 until 2000, then the recession year of 2001 pushed the cuts that month to more than 181,000, according to the firm’s tracking. Layoffs in November remained elevated until 2009 and stayed below 200,000 until the pandemic.
“It was the trend to announce layoff plans toward the end of the year, to align with most companies’ fiscal year-ends. It became unpopular after the Great Recession especially, and best practice dictated layoff plans would occur at times other than the holidays,” Challenger said.
Employers have announced 1,170,821 job cuts this year through November, an increase of 54% from the 761,358 announced in the first 11 months of 2024.
Year-to-date job cuts have reached the highest level since 2020, when there were 2,227,725 cuts announced through November amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
PRIVATE SECTOR UNEXPECTEDLY LOST 32,000 JOBS IN NOVEMBER, ADP SAYS
This year marks the sixth time since 1993 that year-to-date job cuts through November have topped 1.1 million, Challenger found. The number of layoffs through November is the fifth highest since 1993.
Other than 2020, the highest total for cumulative layoffs announced through November of a given year was 1,956,876 in 2001, which was also a recession year, while 2002 saw 1,373,906. Another recession year, 2009, saw 1,242,936 layoffs, according to Challenger’s tracking.
Telecommunications was the industry with the most layoffs announced in November as 15,139 job cuts were announced, primarily from plans announced by Verizon. That’s the highest monthly total for the sector since April 2020, when 16,552 layoffs were announced, and so far in 2025 the sector has announced 38,035 layoffs – an increase of 268% from last year.
RECENT COLLEGE GRADS ARE LOSING THEIR EDGE IN THE JOB MARKET, STUDY SHOWS
The tech sector announced 12,377 layoffs last month, which pushed the 2025 total to 153,536, up 17% from last year.
Food companies, particularly those in the beef industry, announced 6,708 cuts in November. That brings the cumulative 2025 total to 34,165, an increase of 26% from last year.
Companies in the services sector announced 5,509 cuts in November, bringing their total for the year to 69,089, up 64% from a year ago.
Retailers cut 3,290 job cuts in November, and the sector has seen 91,954 layoffs announced this year, which is up 139% from 2024.
