US layoff announcements ease in February after elevated cuts in prior month

Layoffs eased in February as new data showed that U.S. employers announced fewer job cuts last month after they were elevated to start the year, new data shows.

U.S. employers announced 48,307 job cuts in February, according to a report by global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That figure is down 55% from the 108,435 job cuts announced in January, while it's also down 72% from the 172,017 cuts announced in the same month last year.

Layoff announcements combined to total 156,742 in January and February, the lowest total for the first two months of the year since 34,309 were announced in 2022. The figure is also the fifth-highest January-February total recorded since 2009.

"February's dip is a nice reprieve from the elevated job cut plans to start the year. With U.S. involvement in a growing war in Iran, the end of Q1 may bring more layoff plans as companies tighten belts amid uncertainty and higher costs," said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

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The tech industry announced the most layoffs in February, as firms announced 11,039 cuts for the month, bringing the total for the year to 33,330 – up 51% from the 22,042 cuts announced in the sector during the first two months of last year.

"Tech is responding to a number of pressures right now. AI is the big story, but there are also global regulatory concerns, a slowdown in digital advertising driven by tariffs and economic uncertainty, and higher costs to both employ workers and access funding, forcing companies to make difficult decisions," Challenger said.

The transportation sector has announced 31,702 job cuts in 2026, the second-most among any sector and an increase of 872% from the 3,261 announced in the same period last year. The report noted that the war in Iran is likely to impact transportation companies due to oil costs and supply chain disruptions.

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Healthcare companies and health product manufacturers, a category which includes hospitals, have announced 19,228 job cuts so far this year for the highest January-February total since 2021, when 20,245 cuts were recorded in the sector over that period.

Education had the second-most layoff announcements in February with 5,417. That brings the running total for 2026 to 6,209 – up 96% from the 3,160 cuts that were announced through February 2025.

Challenger noted that school districts "tend to approve budgets and headcount in February," adding that with "declining enrollment, particularly in major cities, federal funding cuts and rising costs, schools are cutting more workers than last year."

Industrial manufacturing firms cut 4,109 jobs in February, bringing the 2026 total to 5,685, which is up 143% from the 2,341 cuts announced in the sector in the first two months of last year.

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The leading reasons cited by companies announcing job cuts in February were store or department closings with 10,736, market and economic conditions with 10,114, restructuring with 9,146 and cost-cutting a further 5,636.

In the first two months of the year, market and economic conditions have been cited as causing 38,506 cuts, followed by contract loss with 31,416, restructuring with 29,190, and closings with 23,474.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was cited for 4,680 job cuts in February, representing about 10% of total cuts for the month. In the first two months of 2026, AI was cited in 12,304 layoff announcements, or 8% of total job cut plans.

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Hiring plans rose 140% in February to 12,755 after 5,306 were reported in January. That figure is down 63% from the 34,580 hiring plans in February 2025.

Employers have announced plans to hire 18,061 workers in 2026 so far, down 56% from 40,669 new hires announced in the first two months of 2025.