January 2024 witnessed a staggering 136% increase in job cuts compared to December, with U.S. companies announcing over 82,300 layoffs.
Labor Market Lows
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Unemployment in the U.S. has reached historic lows, so why are so many corporations still cutting jobs?
Almost Record-Breaking Layoffs
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This huge increase in layoffs is the second-largest total of job losses the country has seen in January since 2009.
Divergent Indicators
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While layoffs surge, economists argue that the job market itself is flourishing, pointing to a relatively low unemployment rate and consistent hiring.
“Waves” of Layoffs in January
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One expert, Andy Challenger, noted, “Waves of layoff announcements hit U.S.-based companies in January after a quiet fourth quarter.
AI Among Reasons for Job Cuts
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Challenger suggested the potential reasons for the January job cuts included AI and cost-cutting in “various sectors.”
AI Impacting Several Sectors
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“The impact of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence adoption is beginning to be felt from a jobs perspective, particularly in media and tech,” noted Challenger.
Financial and Tech Sectors Impacted
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Financial and tech industries dominated January’s layoffs, with financial firms witnessing the highest number of job cuts since September 2018.
Citigroup’s Crisis
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Financial firm Citigroup contributed massively to this, as it announced it would be cutting 20,000 jobs.
Technology Sector Layoffs
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Tech employees are feeling the strain with 16,000 job cuts, featuring major tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, and Salesforce implementing workforce reductions.
“Social Contagion” a Factor
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Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer explained that recent layoffs in the tech sector are primarily a result of “social contagion.”
Domino Effect
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Social Contagion, Pfeffer explained, is a domino effect that happens when some companies begin to cut jobs, resulting in others following suit.
Tragic Risk of Layoffs
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“Layoffs don’t work to improve company performance,” noted Pfeffer before arguing that they can also increase the odds of suicide by two times or more.
Not All Doom and Gloom
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A Goldman Sachs survey indicated that 57% of small businesses plan to add jobs in 2024, showing that economists are looking positive for the year ahead despite layoffs.
Moderate Hiring Pace
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Despite optimism, the rising hiring of 2022 has slowed, with 2.7 million new jobs in 2023.
Job Market Significantly Slowed
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This is a notable decline from the 4.8 million jobs added in the preceding year but still exceeding pre-pandemic levels.
Media Industry Layoffs
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Media businesses contribute to the surge in job cuts, experiencing a 1,660% increase in January, with news companies alone cutting 528 jobs.
Recession Comparisons
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Critics are comparing the January layoffs to the Great Recession in 2009 when over 241,000 jobs were cut due to the recession crisis.
Future Layoff Predictions
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Anticipating a cost-trimming trend, it is likely that layoffs will persist in 2024, potentially leading to a rise in the jobless rate, forecasted to reach 4.1% by Oxford Economics.
Federal Reserve’s Stance
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell spoke of the central bank’s desire for a “soft landing” in the labor market.
The Future of the Job Market
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“We’re hoping to see … a continuation of what we have seen, a labor market coming into better balance without a significant increase in unemployment,” said Powell.
The post Labor Market Sees Layoffs Amid Job Market Booms: Exploring the Paradox first appeared on Swift Feed.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Roman Samborskyi.
The content of this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute or replace professional financial advice.