2024 saw the fewest US hiring announcements in nine years

Last year, U.S. firms announced the fewest hiring announcements since 2015, according to a report released Thursday, which confirmed a dramatic slowdown in job growth during that time.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement company, reported that corporations declared 769,953 employment plans, a 1.3% decrease from 2023.

In December, there were 7,999 hiring announcements, down from 11,621 in November. The unemployment rate jumped from 3.7% at the beginning of the year to 4.3% in July before leveling and remaining at 4.2% in November, indicating that the slowdown in job gains last year was caused by sluggish hiring.

Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, stated that the slower hiring pace was a result of firms’ cautious attitudes to expansion and the continuous uncertainty in the economy.

“Most employers are anticipating additional uncertainty with the upcoming administration, which is leading to slower hiring.”

The number of planned job cutbacks last year was 761,358—up 5.5% from 2023 and the largest since 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the labor market. The number of announced layoffs outside the pandemic was the greatest since 2009.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and weekly jobless claims data from the Labor Department have continuously shown modest layoffs despite the spike in announcements.

In December, the number of planned job cuts fell by 33% to 38,792. Last year, the largest number of job layoffs were announced in the technology industry, which was followed by the consumer goods, healthcare, automotive, and services sectors.

Closing, restructuring, cost reduction, and market or economic conditions were the main causes of planned layoffs.