- July layoffs 33,429
- Prior 45,849
US-based employers announced 33,429 job cuts in July, which marks a 27% decline compared to the 45,849 layoffs announced in May. The July figure is also the lowest monthly total in two years, while also reflecting a marked drop of 46% compared to July last year (62,075 layoffs).
It is the fifth time this year that cuts are lower than the corresponding month one year earlier.
Through July this year, the total job cuts announced this year is 477,033. That is down 41% from the 806,383 cuts announced in the first seven months of 2025.
But once again, the technology sector continues to lead all others in job cuts in July. There were 9,867 job cuts announced, bringing the total year-to-date figure to 149,023 in 2026. The total year-to-date figure for this year is a significant increase (67%) to last year’s figure through July.
Challenger notes that:
“The pace of layoffs fell dramatically this summer. Layoff plans continue to be announced primarily in tech, and artificial intelligence is still the story, as investments in the technology reshape organisations. Tech remains the center of gravity for this year’s cuts, and AI is still the reason companies give.”
Of note, AI led all reasons for job cuts in July once again with 10,970 layoffs announced. This marks the fifth consecutive month AI has been the leading reason. And through the year so far, AI has been cited in 112,713 job cut announcements, approximately 24% of all cuts.
This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.