CHICAGO, April 5, 2018 – Job cuts announced by U.S.-based employers surged in March to 60,357, a 71 percent increase from the 35,369 cuts announced in February. Last month’s total is the highest monthly total since April 2016, when 64,141 job cuts were announced, according to a report released Thursday by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“We’ve experienced 22 months of relatively low planned layoff activity. With the current economic conditions, companies are in a position to grow and invest. We’ve seen companies invest back into their workforces in the last couple of months,” said John Challenger, Chief Executive Officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“However, last month’s plans may indicate that growth could be slowing down, especially as the market continues to tighten,” he added.
March’s total is 39 percent higher than the 43,310 announced job cuts during the same month last year.
Through the first quarter of this year, employers have announced 140,379 cuts, 11 percent more than the 126,201 job cut announcements in the first quarter of 2017 and 44 percent higher than the 97,292 cuts announced in the final quarter of last year. First quarter job cut plans are the highest since Q1 2016, when 180,920 cuts were announced.
“In 2016, cuts in retail and oil drove announcements in the first quarter. This year, we are likewise seeing cuts in retail, as that industry continues to pivot to meet consumer demand,” said Challenger.
Retail leads all sectors in job cuts in 2018, with 56,526. So far this year, Challenger has tracked 1,730 announced retail store closures. That is in addition to the 9,241 store closures that were announced in 2017.
Health Care/Products companies announced the second highest number of job cuts in 2018, with 12,491, while the Consumer Products sector announced 11,778. The Services sector announced 10,564 job cuts this year.
“The growth and job creation we’ve seen over the last few months may be coming to an end. As wages grow and the labor market tightens, companies are going to switch to a no-risk strategy and potentially begin contracting,” said Challenger.
In fact, the number of hiring announcements fell in March; companies announced plans to hire 14,525 last month, bringing the year-to-date total to 196,340. This is 32 percent lower than the 289,272 announced hiring plans in the first quarter of 2017.
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CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES
Year To Date
2018
2017
Retail
56,526
38,464
Health Care/Products
12,491
8,116
Consumer Products
11,778
11,778
Services
10,564
10,564
Transportation
5,926
5,926
MONTH-BY-MONTH TOTALS
2018
2017
January
44,653
45,934
February
35,369
36,957
March
60,357
43,310
April
36,602
May
33,092
June
31,105
July
28,307
August
33,825
September
32,346
October
29,831
November
35,038
December
32,423
TOTAL
140,379
418,770
Some reductions are identified by employers as workers who will take early retirement offers or other special considerations to leave the company.
Year To Date
New Jersey
36,305
Texas
13,685
California
12,809
Ohio
10,067
New York
5,888
Copyright 2018 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
JOB CUTS BY INDUSTRY
17-Mar
18-Feb
18-Mar
YTD 2017
YTD 2018
Aerospace/Defense
3,339
641
542
4,496
1,478
Apparel
0
0
Automotive
1,293
1,375
2,468
5,301
4,546
Chemical
130
28
156
294
249
Commodities
0
153
Computer
717
844
378
4,894
1,978
Construction
125
225
72
665
366
Consumer Products
3,162
1,458
651
11,778
Education
4375
130
671
4,681
936
Electronics
50
581
125
140
1,277
Energy
1,950
877
199
7,880
2,205
Entertainment/Leisure
1,736
509
575
4,578
1,524
Financial
987
504
1,187
4,539
2,328
Food
788
1,887
1,669
4,422
4,842
Government
1121
175
723
3,028
1,226
Health Care/Products
3,935
3,861
2,099
8,116
12,491
Industrial Goods
3,947
1,406
1,357
5,948
3,727
Insurance
680
1,398
264
818
2,090
Legal
60
63
0
Media
189
1,307
1,532
1,239
3,694
Non-Profit
200
104
367
804
507
Pharmaceutical
1,141
1,242
527
2,775
2,745
Real Estate
80
80
167
128
302
Retail
4,084
6,106
35,042
38,464
56,526
Services
2,676
5,038
2,314
6,677
10,564
Telecommunications
7,768
914
4,056
9,782
5,921
Transportation
1,939
2,535
1,919
4,368
5,926
Utility
303
490
1,450
863
Warehousing
137
0
137
TOTAL
43,310
35,369
60,357
126,201
140,379
Copyright 2018 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE
EAST
March
YTD
New Jersey
33,640
36,305
New York
1,150
5,888
Pennsylvania
1,156
4,765
Massachusetts
506
2,263
Maryland
614
1,052
Connecticut
1,035
Rhode Island
477
Dist. of Columbia
243
243
New Hampshire
125
Delaware
0
Vermont
0
Maine
0
37,309
52,153
MIDWEST
March
YTD
Ohio
884
10,067
Illinois
1,352
4,806
Michigan
2,298
3,774
Indiana
207
3,183
Wisconsin
984
2,991
Minnesota
73
2,261
Iowa
1,392
2,225
Missouri
39
1,289
Nebraska
284
823
Kansas
453
662
TOTAL
7,966
32,081
Copyright 2018 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE
WEST
March
YTD
Texas
3,175
13,685
California
2,470
12,809
Washington
552
1,964
Colorado
339
1,557
Oregon
354
895
Alaska
853
Oklahoma
726
Arizona
2
646
New Mexico
151
457
Idaho
136
271
Nevada
100
North Dakota
27
Utah
0
Montana
0
Hawaii
0
Wyoming
0
South Dakota
0
TOTAL
7,179
33,990
SOUTH
March
YTD
Virginia
3,499
5,358
Florida
1,041
4,108
Georgia
915
2,745
N. Carolina
845
1,889
Alabama
191
1,795
S. Carolina
967
1,697
Tennessee
7
1,256
Arkansas
1,182
Kentucky
12
1,024
Louisiana
184
454
West Virginia
110
415
Mississippi
132
232
TOTAL
7,903
22,155
Copyright 2018 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
JOB CUTS BY REASON
March
YTD
Closing
12,386
47,311
Restructuring
12,135
38,622
Cost-Cutting
3,503
15,707
Contract Loss
318
3,036
Acquisition/Merger
1,733
3,331
Outsourcing
36
1133
Relocation
246
1179
Bankruptcy
30,000
30,060
TOTAL
60,357
140,379
Copyright 2018 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
QUARTER BY QUARTER
Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
TOTAL
1989
9,850
10,100
24,085
67,250
111,285
1990
107,052
87,686
49,104
72,205
316,047
1991
110,056
76,622
147,507
221,107
555,292
1992*
110,815
85,486
151,849
151,850
500,000
1993
170,615
84,263
194,486
165,822
615,186
1994
192,572
107,421
117,706
98,370
516,069
1995
97,716
114,583
89,718
137,865
439,882
1996
168,695
101,818
91,784
114,850
477,147
1997
134,257
51,309
95,930
152,854
434,350
1998
139,140
131,303
161,013
246,339
677,795
1999
210,521
173,027
173,181
118,403
675,132
2000
141,853
81,568
168,875
221,664
613,960
2001
406,806
370,556
594,326
585,188
1,956,876
2002
478,905
292,393
269,090
426,435
1,466,823
2003
355,795
274,737
241,548
364,346
1,236,426
2004
262,840
209,895
251,585
315,415
1,039,735
2005
287,134
251,140
245,378
288,402
1,072,054
2006
255,878
180,580
202,771
200,593
839,822
2007
195,986
197,513
194,095
180,670
768,264
2008
200,656
275,292
287,142
460,903
1,223,993
2009
562,510
318,165
240,233
151,122
1,272,030
2010
181,183
116,494
113,595
118,701
529,973
2011
130,749
115,057
233,258
127,018
606,082
2012
143,094
139,997
102,910
137,361
523,362
2013
145,041
113,891
128,452
121,667
509,051
2014
121,341
124,693
117,374
119,763
483,171
2015
140,214
147,458
205,759
105,079
598,510
2016
180,920
132,834
121,858
91,303
526,915
2017
126,201
100,799
94,478
97,292
418,770
2018
140,379
140,379
AVG
196,959
154,023
176,176
196,740
*Estimate based on half-year total. Challenger began tracking job-cut data in 1993. Before that, it was tabulated by an independent newsletter no longer published.
Copyright 2018 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
ANNOUNCED HIRING PLANS
By Month
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
January
41,890
136,501
8,362
8,774
6,312
February
139,925
25,765
7,539
14,574
11,054
March
14,525
127,006
10,997
6,412
6,860
April
61,537
11,557
13,898
11,145
May
77,447
24,732
12,598
10,141
June
40,095
13,564
11,176
15,530
July
88,142
16,051
11,637
16,544
August
14,530
9,101
11,778
9,657
September
422,726
487,075
492,306
567,705
October
37,387
135,532
86,107
147,935
November
61,300
108,994
10,026
11,291
December
8,218
35,198
11,465
7,332
TOTAL
196,340
1,100,654
868,702
690,751
821,506
Copyright 2018 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB-CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
ANNOUNCED HIRING PLANS
INDUSTRY
MARCH
YEAR-TO-DATE
Aerospace/Defense
674
1,674
Apparel
0
Automotive
320
2,846
Chemical
0
Commodities
17
17
Computer
320
631
Construction
140
Consumer Products
507
1,561
Education
500
Electronics
322
20,322
Energy
1,800
1,975
Entertainment/Leisure
2,100
12,145
Financial
655
7,655
Food
15
1,095
Government
0
Health Care/Products
320
370
Industrial Goods
230
1,232
Insurance
500
850
Legal
0
Media
0
Non-Profit
0
Pharmaceutical
225
Real Estate
0
Retail
5,445
139,940
Services
900
2,293
Telecommunications
400
590
Transportation
200
Utility
79
TOTAL
14,525
196,340
