U.S.-based employers announced 60,620 job cuts in March, up 25% from 48,307 cuts announced in February, yet down 78% from the 275,240 cuts announced during the same month last year, according to a report released by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“Removing the wave of federal layoffs announced in February and March of last year, job cut announcements in 2026 are closely following the pattern of 2025. Last year it was government, retail, and technology. This year, it’s technology, transportation, and healthcare,” says Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
In the first quarter, employers announced 217,362 job cuts, the lowest Q1 total since 2022, when 55,696 cuts were recorded. It is down 16% from the 259,948 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, and down 56% from the 497,052 cuts announced in the first quarter of 2025.
Key takeaways:
· Technology announced 18,720 job cuts in March for a total of 52,050 in 2026, an increase of 40% from the 37,097 cuts in this sector announced in the same period last year. It is the highest year-to-date total for the sector since 2023 when 102,391 technology cuts were recorded.
· Transportation announced the second-most job cuts this year with 32,241, up 703% from the 4,017 cuts announced during the same period in 2025. Transportation industries, including airlines and shipping, will likely be squeezed by an ongoing war in Iran, making it the highest Q1 total for the sector on record.
· In March, artificial intelligence (AI) led all reasons for job cuts, with 99,470 layoff announcements between 2023-March 2026, 3.5% of all layoffs announced in that time period. And, 90% of those cuts occurred in the technology sector.
· Hiring plans rose 157% in March to 32,826 from 12,755 in February, up 149% from the 13,198 hiring plans in March 2025. So far this year, employers have announced plans to hire 50,887 workers, down 6% from 53,867 new hires announced during the same period in 2025.
· Just over 21% of last month’s announced hiring plans were seasonal summer jobs. So far in 2026, automotive leads all industries in hiring plans with 12,258.
