US-based employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September 2026, down from 52,881 in August and 54,064 last year. It is the lowest total for the month since 2022. The tech sector announced the most cuts (10,799), followed by food (7,326) and services (3,306). "Companies are in a wait-and-see period right now. Employers are facing high energy costs, an uncertain war in Iran, a rate hike that could make hiring more expensive, plus the likelihood of surging healthcare costs. We’ve seen layoff activity subside over this year, and September continues to illustrate this point,” said Andy Challenger from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Meanwhile, Q3 layoff plans totaled 129,591, down 43% from the 226,242 layoff plans in Q2 2026. Through September, employers have announced 573,195 job cuts, down 39% from the 946,426 cuts announced in the first nine months of 2025. The tech sector lead with 165,925 cuts. source: Challenger, Gray and Christmas, Inc.

Challenger Job Cuts in the United States decreased to 43281 Persons in September from 52881 Persons in August of 2026. Challenger Job Cuts in the United States averaged 66967.49 Persons from 1994 until 2026, reaching an all time high of 671129.00 Persons in April of 2020 and a record low of 14875.00 Persons in November of 2021. This page provides the latest reported value for - United States Challenger Job Cuts - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United States Challenger Job Cuts - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on October of 2026.

Challenger Job Cuts in the United States decreased to 43281 Persons in September from 52881 Persons in August of 2026. Challenger Job Cuts in the United States is expected to be 73000.00 Persons by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United States Challenger Job Cuts is projected to trend around 92000.00 Persons in 2027 and 103000.00 Persons in 2028, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2026-09-03 09:30 AM
Challenger Job Cuts
Aug 52.881K 33.429K 62.0K
2026-10-01 09:30 AM
Challenger Job Cuts
Sep 43.281K 52.881K 78.0K
2026-11-05 10:30 AM
Challenger Job Cuts
Oct 43.281K


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
ADP Employment Change 90.00 36.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Average Hourly Earnings MoM 0.10 0.30 percent Sep 2026
Average Hourly Earnings YoY 3.00 3.10 percent Sep 2026
Average Weekly Hours 34.40 34.40 Hours Sep 2026
Challenger Job Cuts 43281.00 52881.00 Persons Sep 2026
Continuing Jobless Claims 1716.00 1699.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Employed Persons 163152.00 162746.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Employment Cost Index 0.90 0.90 percent Jun 2026
Employment Cost - Benefits 1.00 1.20 percent Jun 2026
Employment Cost - Wages 0.90 0.80 percent Jun 2026
Employment Rate 59.20 59.10 percent Sep 2026
Full Time Employment 134376.00 134288.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Government Payrolls -17.00 44.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Challenger Hiring Plans 90787.00 12325.00 Persons Sep 2026
Initial Jobless Claims 197.00 199.00 Thousand Oct 2026
Job Layoffs and Discharges 1641.00 1702.00 Thousand Aug 2026
JOLTs Job Openings 7079.00 7335.00 Thousand Aug 2026
JOLTs Job Quits 3066.00 3089.00 Thousand Aug 2026
Job Quits Rate 1.90 1.90 Percent Aug 2026
Job Openings 7067.00 7855.00 Thousand Aug 2026
Jobless Claims 4-week Average 198.00 200.50 Thousand Oct 2026
Participation Rate 61.80 61.60 percent Sep 2026
Labour Costs 123.98 123.62 points Jun 2026
Long Term Unemployment Rate 1.14 1.14 percent Sep 2026
Manufacturing Payrolls 9.00 15.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Minimum Wages 7.25 7.25 USD/Hour Dec 2026
Non Farm Payrolls 29.00 133.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Nonfarm Payrolls Private 46.00 89.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Nonfarm Productivity 1.40 0.80 percent Jun 2026
Part Time Employment 28746.00 28541.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Population 342.28 340.97 Million Dec 2025
Productivity 120.02 119.59 points Jun 2026
Retirement Age Men 67.00 66.83 Years Dec 2026
Retirement Age Women 67.00 66.83 Years Dec 2026
U-6 Unemployment Rate 7.60 7.70 percent Sep 2026
Unemployed Persons 7109.00 7031.00 Thousand Sep 2026
Unemployment Rate 4.20 4.10 percent Sep 2026
Unit Labour Costs 1.20 1.30 percent Jun 2026
Wage Growth 4.17 4.18 percent Aug 2026
Wages 32.60 32.53 USD/Hour Sep 2026
Wages in Manufacturing 30.21 30.33 USD/Hour Sep 2026
Youth Unemployment Rate 9.90 9.10 percent Sep 2026


United States Challenger Job Cuts
Challenger Job-Cut Report provides information on the number of announced corporate layoffs by industry and region.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
43281.00 52881.00 671129.00 14875.00 1994 - 2026 Persons Monthly
NSA

News Stream
US Job Cuts Fall in September
US-based employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September 2026, down from 52,881 in August and 54,064 last year. It is the lowest total for the month since 2022. The tech sector announced the most cuts (10,799), followed by food (7,326) and services (3,306). "Companies are in a wait-and-see period right now. Employers are facing high energy costs, an uncertain war in Iran, a rate hike that could make hiring more expensive, plus the likelihood of surging healthcare costs. We’ve seen layoff activity subside over this year, and September continues to illustrate this point,” said Andy Challenger from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Meanwhile, Q3 layoff plans totaled 129,591, down 43% from the 226,242 layoff plans in Q2 2026. Through September, employers have announced 573,195 job cuts, down 39% from the 946,426 cuts announced in the first nine months of 2025. The tech sector lead with 165,925 cuts.
2026-10-01
US Job Cuts Rise in August
US-based employers announced 52,881 job cuts in August 2026 compared to 33,429 in July. However, the figure is down 38.5% compared with the same month last year and represents the lowest August month since 2022. Consumer Products led all sectors with 10,057 cuts, driven by announcements at Procter & Gamble and Estée Lauder. Food producers followed, with 7,982 cuts and Tyson accounting for nearly a third attributed to a historic cattle shortage. Technology (6,103), financial (4,286) and communication (4,113) followed. Restructuring led all reasons for job cuts in August with 16,173 announced while AI fell to the fourth-most cited reason with 3,462 cuts. Through August, employers have announced 529,914 job cuts, down 41% from the first eight months of 2025 and the lowest January-to-August total since 2022. Technology leads all industries with 155,126 cuts, followed by Transportation with 42,279, Health Care/Products with 35,637, Consumer Products with 28,574, and Services with 26,778.
2026-09-03
US Firms Announce the Fewest Job Cuts in Two Years
US-based employers announced 33,429 job cuts in July 2026, the fewest in two years, down 27% from June and 46% compared with the same month last year. AI led all reasons for job cuts for a fifth straight month and was responsible for 10.97K during the month. The tech sector cut the most jobs (9.867K), followed by financial (3.157K), government (2.962K), and services (2.581K). Through July, employers have announced 477,033 job cuts, down 41% from the 806,383 cuts announced in the first seven months of 2025. Technology leads all industries with 149,023 cuts announced through July, followed by Transportation with 41,748, Health Care/Products with 34,426, Services with 23,942, and Government with 20,752. Meanwhile, employers announced plans to hire 16,095 workers in July, the highest July total since 2022. “Hiring has also increased over last year by 25%, so while AI is shifting the labor market, it is not dismantling it,” said Andy Challenger from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
2026-08-06