Job Cuts Jump in January as Hiring Plans Hit Record Low: Challenger Report

A hiring sign in the window of a Denny’s restaurant in Miami, Fla., on Nov. 19, 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesU.S. employers announced a sharp increase in planned layoffs in January while hiring plans fell to their lowest level on record for the month, signaling growing caution about the labor market at the start of 2026, according to a report released on Feb. 5 by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.U.S.-based companies announced 108,435 job cuts in January, more than double the 49,795 cuts reported in the same month last year and up 205 percent from December’s total of 35,553, per the report. It marked the highest January job-cut figure since 2009, during the depths of the global financial crisis.