28,577 job cuts this month so far, our highest week since we began tracking data in September #MacroEdge pic.twitter.com/qWRmCEoscN
— MacroEdge (@MacroEdgeRes) April 5, 2024
Although the most recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report issued Friday showed that the unemployment rate “changed little” last month, a separate report found that layoffs reached a 14-month high.
“U.S.-based employers announced 90,309 cuts in March, up 7% from the 84,638 cuts announced in February , and virtually the same as (+0.7%) the 89,703 cuts announced in the same month last year . It is the highest monthly total since 102,943 cuts occurred in January 2023 , said the report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas , a Chicago-based global outplacement and career transitioning firm.
Even as these cuts were announced, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 303,000 in March and the unemployment rate stayed around 3.8%, per the BLS.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, high inflation – and high interest rates put in place by the Federal Reserve Bank to tame inflation – have put pressure on both consumers and businesses. However, according to the Fed’s March Federal Open Market Committee statement , “job gains have remained strong, and the unemployment rate has remained low.”
Low doesn’t mean nonexistent, though. According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas report, companies announced plans to cut 257,254 jobs in the first quarter. That was down 5% from the same quarter last year, but up 120% from the final quarter of 2023.
“Layoffs certainly ticked up to round out the first quarter, though below last year’s levels. Many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach,” explained said Andy Challenger, workplace and labor expert and Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “While Technology continues to lead all industries so far this year, several industries, including Energy and Industrial Manufacturing, are cutting more jobs this year than last.”
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/3393149886878-us-layoffs-reach-14-month-high
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US applications for unemployment benefits rise, but layoffs remain at historically low levels
The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits rose last week but layoffs remain at historically low levels as the labor market continues to chug along despite elevated interest rates.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that filings for unemployment claims for the week ending March 30 climbed by 9,000 to 221,000 from the previous week’s 212,000.
The four-week average of claims, which evens out some of the weekly volatility, rose modestly to 214,250, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week.
In total, 1.79 million Americans were collecting jobless benefits during the week that ended March 23, a decline of 19,000 from the previous week.
Weekly unemployment claims are considered a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a given week and a sign of where the job market is headed. They have remained at historically low levels since the pandemic purge of millions of jobs in the spring of 2020.
US Layoffs Reach 14-Month High Amid Government, Tech Cutbacks
U.S. layoff announcements rose 7% in March to the highest since January 2023, led by technology and government-sector job eliminations, though cuts announced year to date are down 5% from a year ago amid a still-strong job market, a report out on Thursday showed.
Job cut announcements increased to 90,309 in March from 84,638 in February, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said. On a yearly basis, the level increased slightly by 0.7% from the 89,703 cuts announced in March 2023.
The technology industry continued to outpace other sectors in jobs cuts through the first quarter of this year, announcing 14,224 in March and 42,442 since the year began. The U.S. government was the top job cutter last month, accounting for 36,044 announced layoffs, the highest since September 2011 and occurring largely within Veterans Affairs and the United States Army.
Through the first three months of the year, companies have announced 257,254 layoffs, down from 270,416 in last year’s first quarter, another indication of a job market that continues to hold up in the face of high interest rates. A report from payroll processor ADP on Wednesday indicated a greater-than-expected 184,000 private-sector jobs were created last month, and the government on Friday is expected to report about 200,000 payroll jobs overall were added in March.
Employers most frequently cited cost-cutting and restructuring efforts as reasons for job eliminations, Challenger said.
“Many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach. While technology continues to lead all industries so far this year, several industries, including energy and industrial manufacturing, are cutting more jobs this year than last,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Unemployment rate among Black Americans jumped in March, contrasting overall trends
The unemployment rate for Black workers rose to 6.4% last month from 5.6% in February, even as the overall jobless rate inched lower to 3.8%.
This spike was particularly noticeable for Black women, who saw their unemployment rate climb to 5.6% from 4.4%.
The unemployment rate among Black Americans jumped in March, according to data released Friday by the Department of Labor.
Black unemployment rose to 6.4% last month, up from 5.6% in February. That’s higher than the overall unemployment rate, which edged lower to 3.8% last month, as well as the 3.4% jobless rate for white Americans, which held steady from February.
When accounting for gender, the unemployment rate for Black women aged 20 or older spiked to 5.6%, a big increase from the 4.4% rate in February. Black men’s jobless rates climbed slightly higher to 6.2% from 6.1%.
https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2024/04/05/unemployment-rate-among-black-americans-jumps-in-march.html
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