Job cuts surge 103% from January

Kelsey Barberio brings you the biggest news of the day, including an enormous jump in the number of job cuts reported by employers.

Transcript

00:00A new report revealed the U.S. just had its worst month of job cuts since 2009.

00:05The report, released by Challenger Gray and Christmas, showed U.S.-based employers slashed

00:09more than 172,000 jobs in February, an incredible 103 percent increase from the month prior.

00:16February marked the 12th highest monthly total since Challenger began recording job cuts.

00:21The other 11, including four during the COVID-19 pandemic, all occurred during a recession.

00:26The largest number of cuts came from the government sector.

00:29The new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, led to a cutting of 62,242 jobs

00:36across 17 federal agencies, an increase of more than 41,000 percent from February 2024.

00:45Other industries that were hit hard by layoffs in February were retail with roughly 39,000

00:50cuts, technology with 14,500 cuts, and consumer products with roughly 11,000 cuts.

00:56However, the report did highlight one positive note.

00:59Companies made more than 34,000 hires last month, the best February for hiring since

01:042022.

01:05That'll do it for your daily briefing.

01:07From New York City, I'm Kelsea Barberio with The Street.