Just one day after Trump claimed the economy was “BOOMING,” a new report from the research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that corporate layoffs hit the highest level since 2003 in the month of October. The report showed U.S. employers slashed 153,074 jobs in October, which is up 175% from cuts announced in October 2024.
October’s job cuts are also up from the month prior, when U.S. employers reported 54,064 job cuts for September.
Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said October’s job cuts were “much higher than average for the month.”
“Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes. Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market,” Challenger said in a statement.
Overall, 2025 has seen more corporate job layoffs than 2024. According to the press release, “employers have announced 1,099,500 job cuts, an increase of 65% from the 664,839 announced in the first ten months of last year.”
The press release explained that October’s job cuts total is the highest for the month since October 2003, when there were 171,874 layoffs recorded. According to the release, October 2003 layoffs were announced in retail and telecommunications industries due to acquisitions and the rise of cell phones.
“This is the highest total for October in over 20 years, and the highest total for a single month in the fourth quarter since 2008. Like in 2003, a disruptive technology is changing the landscape,” Challenger said.
“Over the last decade, companies have shied away from announcing layoffs in the fourth quarter, so it’s surprising to see so many in October. With the onset of social media, and the ability for workers to share their negative experiences with their employers, the trend of announcing layoffs before the holidays fell away, a practice that seemed particularly cruel,” he added.
This is just the latest poor economic news for Trump.
Americans have also given Trump low marks on the economy in recent polls. A new CNN poll, released on Monday, showed 68% of Americans believe things in the U.S. are going badly, 72% said the economy is in bad shape, and 61% said Trump’s policies have worsened economic conditions.
Despite these lackluster numbers, Trump keeps promoting the economy.