January layoffs highest since Great Recession: analyst

Layoffs hit their highest total last month since the Great Recession nearly two decades ago, according to a new analysis, and employers don't look to be adding jobs soon.

U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for January, up 118 percent from the same period a year ago and 205 percent from December, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, and CNBC reported those were the highest totals for January since the depths of the global financial crisis in 2009.

“Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January,” said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for the firm. “It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026.”

Companies announced only 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, and the Challenger data calls into question a narrative that has formed around a no-hire, no-fire labor market.

"Some high-profile layoff announcements have boosted fears of wider damage in the labor market," CNBC reported. "Amazon, UPS and Dow Inc. recently have announced sizable job cuts. Indeed, transportation had the highest level from a sector standpoint in January, due largely to plans from UPS to cut more than 30,000 workers. Technology was second on the back of Amazon’s announcement to shed 16,000 mostly corporate level jobs."

Planned hiring dropped 13 percent since January 2025 and fell off 49 percent since December, and initial jobless claims spiked since early December to a seasonally adjusted total of 231,000 for the last week of January.

"Sobering data from Challenger on the US labor market," said Wharton School professor Mohamed A. El-Erian. "Announced job cuts in January more than doubled year-over-year, hitting their highest level since the 2009 Great Recession. Most notably, these layoffs are occurring while GDP continues to grow at approximately 4 percent, accelerating the decoupling of employment from economic growth — a phenomenon that, if it persists, has profound economic, political, and social implications."