Dive Brief:
- U.S. job cuts dropped roughly 21% in July compared to June but remain elevated compared to July 2021, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report published Aug. 4.
- Despite elevated job cuts, the period of January to July 2022 marked the lowest recorded total of monthly job cut announcements between the months of January and July since 1993. Among industries, the automotive sector had the most cuts in July, followed by technology and finance.
- The nation’s labor market is still tight even as hiring growth slows, Andrew Challenger, senior VP at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. The outplacement firm found that hiring plans fell to 25,506 in July, their lowest level since November 2021.
Dive Insight:
Economic turbulence continues to impact employers in waves. In retail, Walmart made headlines this week after it initiated the latest in a series of layoffs within the sector, cutting some 200 corporate employees amid declining profits, Retail Dive reported. The news followed weeks of layoff announcements from technology organizations like Twitter and Netflix.
Retention has not proved much easier. A July survey of workers by the Conference Board found that 31% of workers planned to leave their jobs within six months. Even the recent chatter about an economic recession has not dissuaded employees from seeking new opportunities, according to a survey by hiring software firm Greenhouse.
However, job cuts this year do not appear to be following the same pattern as observed during previous recession years, according to Challenger.
“Job cut levels are nowhere near where they were in the 2001 and 2008 recessions right now, though they may be ticking up,” he said. “If we’re in a recession, we have yet to feel it in the labor market.”
Leaders at the National Association of Corporate Directors earlier this year identified competition for talent as the biggest concern for public companies in 2022, ahead of other hot-button issues such as inflation. That has driven employers to aim for faster, more streamlined hiring processes.
HR, meanwhile, may need to ensure that remaining staff and new staff have opportunities to voice concerns and frustrations that may arise during more difficult times, and that such feedback leads to tangible improvements in the workplace. HR also plays a key role in ensuring any talent management decisions are made with empathy, sources previously told HR Dive.
