U.S. employers announced 54,064 job cuts in September 2025, down -37% MoM and -26% YoY, making it one of only three months this year where cuts were lower than the prior year, though YTD layoffs remain the highest since 2020.

• Q3 job cuts totaled 202,118, the highest for any third quarter since 2020, up +16% YoY but -18% from Q2 2025.

• YTD cuts reached 946,426, up +55% YoY and already +24% above the full-year 2024 total, the fifth-highest January–September total in 36 years.

• The government sector accounted for 299,755 cuts YTD, largely from federal workforce reductions tied to DOGE, though 5,656 rescinded layoffs were tracked in September.

• Technology firms announced 107,878 cuts YTD (-8% YoY), with 17,375 explicitly attributed to artificial intelligence, including 7,000 in September alone.

• Retail layoffs surged to 86,233 YTD (+203% YoY), reflecting sector caution ahead of the holiday hiring season.

• Media job cuts rose to 14,060 YTD (+9% YoY), though news industry layoffs fell sharply (-49% YoY).

• Regionally, the East posted the largest increase (+193% YoY), led by Washington D.C. (+759% YoY), while the South saw +29% YoY growth, the West dipped -2%, and the Midwest was flat.

• Employers announced only 204,939 hiring plans YTD (-58% YoY), the lowest January–September total since 2009, with seasonal hiring especially weak.