Planned U.S. Job Cuts Drop Sharply in April, But Remain 63% Higher Than A Year Ago

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Layoffs announced by U.S. employers dropped in April, but companies remained resistant to boost hiring amid an uncertain economic outlook because of tariffs.

Global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday that planned job cuts fell 62% to 105,441 last month. Layoffs were, however, 63% higher compared to last year and April’s tally was the highest for the month in five years.

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“Generally, companies are citing the economy and new technology,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Employers are slow to hire and limiting hiring plans as they wait and see what will happen with trade, supply chain and consumer spending.”

A massive front-loading of imports as businesses tried to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariffs weighed on gross domestic product in the first quarter.

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So far this year, employers have announced 602,493 layoffs, the highest year-to-date total since 2020 and up 87% from the 322,043 cuts announced during the same period in 2024.

They were led by the government, with 282,227 job cuts, 281,452 of which were attributed to tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Hiring plans rose to a still-tepid 16,191 from 13,198 in March. Plans were up 65% compared to the same period last year.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)

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