Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday that companies planned to cut 52,881 jobs in August, up from 33,429 in July but below 85,979 layoff intentions in August 2025.
The current level was the lowest for an August report since 2022, according to Challenger.
The largest layoff counts in August were in the consumer products and food sectors, which announced 10,057 and 7,982 job cuts, respectively. The most cited reason for layoffs was restructuring, which accounted for 16,173 of the monthly total, followed by market and economic conditions, which accounted for 15,260 layoff intentions.
"This is the quietest August since 2022 but is generally on average for the month since the mid-2010s," said Andy Challenger, the company's chief revenue officer. "What we'd like to see with low layoffs is an increase in hiring activity. While companies are making plans to hire more workers than last year, according to our numbers, it doesn't appear those positions are being filled quickly."
In total, there were 12,325 hiring plans announced in August, down from the 16,095 hiring plans in July and but up significantly from 1,494 a year ago.
The aerospace and technology sectors led hiring plans in the month.