In March, U.S. employers announced a significant increase in planned layoffs — over 60% more than in February — reaching 275,240, the highest figure since the pandemic. According to Challenger, the number of layoffs in Q1 reached 497,052 — the most since the first quarter of 2009. Over 280,000 of those were related to federal employees and associated contractors and agencies, mainly due to DOGE-related plans. Otherwise, it would have been a relatively calm month in terms of layoffs.
US March Challenger layoffs 275.24k vs 172.02k prior
