U.S. employers announced 573,195 job cuts from January through September 2026, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That is 39% fewer than the 946,426 cuts announced in the same nine months of 2025. September alone brought 43,281 announced cuts, down 18% from August and the second-lowest monthly total of the year.
Most of the drop comes from government. Government cuts fell 92% after the huge 2025 federal wave. Take government out and announced cuts are down only 15%. Technology is the exception: tech companies have announced 165,925 cuts in 2026, up 54% from last year, and artificial intelligence was cited in 120,136 cuts, about 21% of the total. Official data tells a calmer story. The BLS counted 1.6 million layoffs and discharges in August 2026, a 1.0% rate, and weekly jobless claims are below 200,000.
Key takeaways
- Employers announced 573,195 job cuts in January through September 2026, down 39% from 946,426 a year earlier (Challenger).
- Excluding government, announced cuts total 550,185, down only 15% from 646,671 in 2025.
- Technology leads all industries with 165,925 announced cuts in 2026, up 54% and about 29% of all cuts.
- AI was the most cited reason for cuts this year, cited for 120,136 announced cuts (about 21%).
- BLS JOLTS: 1.64 million layoffs and discharges in August 2026 (1.0% rate), versus 3.07 million quits.
- Initial jobless claims were 197,000 for the week ending October 3, 2026, down from 233,000 a year earlier.
- Laid-off workers are taking longer to find work: median unemployment duration hit 11.5 weeks in September 2026, up from 10.1 weeks a year earlier.
US job market this month
US employers had 7.1M job openings in August 2026 and made 5.2M hires. About 3.1M people quit their jobs, a quit rate of 1.9%. The unemployment rate was 4.2% in September 2026.
That works out to 1.01 job openings for every unemployed person in August 2026, a quick read on how hard the search is for job seekers.
Job openings, hires and quits come from the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, which runs about a month behind the unemployment rate. The latest month is preliminary and BLS revises it. All figures are seasonally adjusted. Source: BLS (job openings, hires, quit rate, unemployment rate). Updates automatically each month.
How many layoffs have there been in 2026 so far?
Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracks layoff announcements by U.S.-based employers each month. Its September 2026 report, published October 1, 2026, counts 573,195 announced cuts through September. Announcements are plans, not completed layoffs, so some cuts happen later, in phases, or through buyouts and attrition.
January was the heaviest month at 108,435 cuts. May (97,006) and April (83,387) followed. The third quarter was the quietest stretch of the year, with 129,591 cuts, compared with 217,362 in the first quarter and 226,242 in the second.
| Measure | 2026 | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| September job cuts | 43,281 | 54,064 | -20% |
| Jan-Sep job cuts | 573,195 | 946,426 | -39% |
| Jan-Sep cuts excluding government | 550,185 | 646,671 | -15% |
| Jan-Sep government cuts | 23,010 | 299,755 | -92% |
| Jan-Sep technology cuts | 165,925 | 107,878 | +54% |
| Jan-Sep announced hiring plans | 210,612 | 204,939 | +3% |
How do 2026 layoffs compare with previous years?
2025 was the heaviest year for announced cuts since the pandemic, at 1,206,374. Most of that jump came from federal government reductions. 2026 will finish well below 2025. To pass 2023 (721,677), employers would need to announce about 148,500 more cuts in October through December; the third quarter brought 129,591. For context, the 2026 total through September is close to the full-year 2019 count of 592,556.
Which industries have the most layoffs in 2026?
Technology accounts for more announced cuts than the next four industries combined. Transportation (44,430), health care and products (37,417), consumer products (30,652) and services (30,084) round out the top five. Government, which led 2025 by a wide margin, has fallen to eighth place with 23,010 cuts.
Some industries are cutting far less than a year ago. Retail announced 14,434 cuts, down 83% from 86,233. Warehousing is down 53% and telecommunications is down 64%.
| Industry | Jan-Sep 2026 cuts | Share of all cuts |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | 165,925 | 28.9% |
| Transportation | 44,430 | 7.8% |
| Health Care/Products | 37,417 | 6.5% |
| Consumer Products | 30,652 | 5.3% |
| Services | 30,084 | 5.2% |
| Food | 29,693 | 5.2% |
| Financial | 23,762 | 4.1% |
| Government | 23,010 | 4.0% |
| Warehousing | 19,881 | 3.5% |
| Automotive | 19,423 | 3.4% |
| Non-Profit | 16,531 | 2.9% |
| Education | 15,679 | 2.7% |
| Pharmaceutical | 15,472 | 2.7% |
| Retail | 14,434 | 2.5% |
| Industrial Goods | 12,957 | 2.3% |
Why are companies laying off workers in 2026?
Artificial intelligence is the most cited reason for announced cuts this year, at 120,136. Market and economic conditions are close behind at 114,124, followed by closings (99,092) and restructuring (79,892). In September, though, AI fell to fifth place with 3,961 cuts. Market and economic conditions led the month with 8,789, and demand downturn cuts (6,515) were the highest for any month since February 2023.
| Other reasons cited | Jan-Sep 2026 cuts |
|---|---|
| Voluntary severance/buyouts | 11,919 |
| Bankruptcy | 10,062 |
| Financial loss | 4,251 |
| Relocation (domestic) | 2,969 |
| EV tax credit expiration | 2,058 |
| DOGE downstream impact | 1,771 |
| Federal cuts/shutdown | 1,456 |
| Technological update (automation) | 1,353 |
| Tariffs | 331 |
How many federal government jobs have been cut in 2026?
Government job cuts have nearly disappeared from the announcement data. Challenger counts 23,010 government cuts through September 2026, down 92% from 299,755 in the same period of 2025, when federal workforce reductions drove the yearly total past 1.2 million. Only 781 government cuts were announced in September. Challenger also tracks private-sector fallout from federal spending changes: 1,771 cuts were tied to “DOGE downstream impact,” 1,456 to federal cuts or the shutdown, and 563 to lost federal contracts this year.
How many people are laid off each month, according to the BLS?
Announcements are only part of the picture. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) measures actual separations. In August 2026, employers laid off or discharged 1.64 million workers, a rate of 1.0% of employment. That is down from 1.83 million (1.2%) in August 2025. The 2026 monthly high so far was 1.88 million in March.
Layoffs remain a small share of separations. Workers quit 3.07 million times in August, nearly twice the number of layoffs. But the quits rate has slipped to 1.9%, a sign that fewer people feel confident leaving a job. Low quits plus low layoffs is the “low hire, low fire” market that has defined 2025 and 2026.
| JOLTS measure (August 2026) | Level | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Job openings | 7.1 million | 4.3% |
| Hires | 5.2 million | 3.3% |
| Total separations | 5.1 million | 3.2% |
| Quits | 3.1 million | 1.9% |
| Layoffs and discharges | 1.6 million | 1.0% |
Turnover patterns vary a lot by sector. See Apollo’s breakdown of employee turnover rate by industry for quits and separations by field.
How many people are filing for unemployment each week?
Initial unemployment insurance claims are the fastest layoff signal available. The Department of Labor reported 197,000 seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending October 3, 2026, down 2,000 from the prior week. The four-week average was 198,000. A year earlier, weekly claims were 233,000.
Claims have trended down through 2026. The monthly average of weekly claims fell from 239,000 in June 2025 to 200,500 in September 2026. Continuing claims, which count people still collecting benefits, were 1.72 million for the week ending September 26, compared with 1.93 million a year earlier.
| Weekly claims measure | Latest | Year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Initial claims (week ending Oct 3, 2026) | 197,000 | 233,000 |
| 4-week moving average | 198,000 | 227,500 |
| Continuing claims (week ending Sep 26, 2026) | 1,716,000 | 1,929,000 |
How many tech layoffs have there been in 2026?
Tech is the one big sector where layoffs are rising. Challenger counts 165,925 announced tech cuts through September, up 54% from 107,878 a year earlier. September alone brought 10,799 tech cuts, up 77% from August.
Layoffs.fyi, which has tracked tech layoffs since 2020, recorded 125,759 tech employees laid off at 264 companies between January 1 and August 6, 2026, according to IBTimes UK. That already topped the 122,606 layoffs it logged for all of 2025. It counted 152,922 in 2024. TrueUp, a second tracker that also counts startups and non-U.S. employers, had logged 174,721 people affected across 520 layoff events in 2026 as of the same report.
What are the largest layoffs of 2026?
The biggest cuts this year span delivery, software, hardware and social media. Some figures are announced plans; others come from headcount declines disclosed in annual SEC filings. Oracle and Block explicitly tied their cuts to AI, while Microsoft and Intuit said theirs were not about AI replacing workers.
| Company | Jobs affected | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS | Up to 30,000 | Jan 27, 2026 | Operational roles; attrition and driver buyouts |
| Oracle | About 21,000 | Jun 2026 (10-K) | Headcount decline in fiscal 2026, about 13% of staff |
| Amazon | About 16,000 | Jan 28, 2026 | Corporate roles; second round since October 2025 |
| Dell Technologies | About 11,000 | Mar 2026 (10-K) | Headcount fell from 108,000 to 97,000 in fiscal 2026 |
| Meta | About 8,000 | May 20, 2026 | About 10% of staff; earlier 2026 rounds also cut Reality Labs |
| Microsoft | About 4,800 | Mid-2026 | Heaviest impact in Xbox |
| Dow | About 4,500 | Jan 2026 | Simplification plan using AI and automation |
| Block | About 4,000 | Feb 26, 2026 | About 40% of the workforce |
| Cisco | About 4,000 | May 2026 | About 5% of staff |
| Uber | About 3,300 | Sep 2, 2026 | About 10% of the global workforce |
| Intuit | About 3,000 | May 20, 2026 | About 17% of the workforce |
Smaller rounds continue into the fall. HubSpot announced about 660 cuts (7% of staff) on October 6, and Amazon began further reductions in its Stores division on October 7, according to Tech.co.
How many layoffs are caused by AI?
Challenger counts 120,136 announced cuts in 2026 that cited artificial intelligence, about 21% of the total and the single most cited reason. Treat this number with some care. It reflects what employers say in announcements, and companies do not always agree on what counts as an AI-driven cut. For a fuller look at AI’s effect on hiring, wages and job openings, see Apollo’s AI jobs statistics.
How long does it take to find a job after a layoff?
It is taking longer. In September 2026, the median duration of unemployment was 11.5 weeks, up from 10.1 weeks in September 2025, according to the BLS Current Population Survey. The average (mean) duration was 24.8 weeks. About 1.94 million people had been out of work for 27 weeks or more, or 27.1% of all unemployed, up from 23.6% a year earlier.
The number of permanent job losers, people whose jobs ended and who are not waiting to be recalled, was 1.75 million in September 2026, down from 2.01 million a year earlier. So fewer people are losing jobs, but those who do are staying unemployed longer. The national unemployment rate was 4.2% in September 2026.
| Unemployment measure (seasonally adjusted) | Sept 2025 | Sept 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Median duration of unemployment | 10.1 weeks | 11.5 weeks |
| Average duration of unemployment | 24.1 weeks | 24.8 weeks |
| Unemployed 27 weeks or more | 1.82 million (23.6%) | 1.94 million (27.1%) |
| Permanent job losers | 2.01 million | 1.75 million |
| Job losers on temporary layoff | 844,000 | 845,000 |
If you were recently let go, Apollo’s layoff checklist walks through what to do in the first days and weeks. Apollo’s job search statistics cover how long searches take and which channels lead to offers. Before you apply, learn how to spot ghost job postings so you do not waste time on roles that are not open.
What do these layoff statistics mean for employers?
- Experienced talent is available, but not everywhere. Tech and transportation cuts have put more software, IT and operations professionals on the market, while health care and manufacturing are still adding jobs.
- Candidates are more cautious. With quits at 1.9%, employed workers are less willing to move. Expect longer decision times and more counteroffers.
- Laid-off candidates can start quickly. Median unemployment is 11.5 weeks, so many qualified people are actively searching and can begin soon.
- Announcements are not the same as layoffs. Challenger counts plans; JOLTS counts actual separations. Use both before assuming the market has turned.
- AI is reshaping roles, not just cutting them. One in five announced cuts cites AI, yet many of the same companies are hiring for AI, data and infrastructure skills.
Recruiter tip: When you screen candidates affected by a layoff, ask what the team was building and what was cut, not why they were let go. Large rounds at companies like Oracle, Amazon and Meta cut thousands of roles at once, so a layoff says little about the individual. Move fast: strong candidates from well-known employers often get several offers within a few weeks.
Hiring engineers or IT professionals? Apollo Technical places engineering talent and IT professionals across the U.S. Submit a hiring request, or if you are looking for work, browse open jobs.
Methodology and sources
We used the latest data available as of October 13, 2026. Challenger figures are announced job cuts by U.S.-based employers and may differ from actual layoffs. BLS and Department of Labor figures are seasonally adjusted unless noted, and recent months are preliminary and subject to revision. Company layoff figures come from company statements and SEC filings as reported by the outlets listed.
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas, September 2026 Job Cuts Report, October 1, 2026.
- BLS, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, August 2026, September 29, 2026; monthly series via FRED JTSLDL and FRED JTSQUL.
- U.S. Department of Labor, Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims, October 8, 2026; monthly averages via FRED ICSA.
- BLS, The Employment Situation, September 2026, October 2, 2026 (Tables A-11 and A-12).
- Layoffs.fyi and TrueUp tech layoff counts as reported by IBTimes UK, August 11, 2026.
- Company layoffs: Al Jazeera (Jan 28, 2026), ChannelWeb (Jan 28, 2026), NewsNation (Jan 29, 2026), Nairametrics (Jul 27, 2026), Tech.co (updated Oct 2026).
