Propelled by cost cutting and the growing adoption of artificial intelligence, employers slashed more than 150,000 jobs in October, the largest wave of layoffs in more than 20 years, a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday, Nov. 6.

Seeking to cut costs, technology companies shed the most jobs, followed by the retail and services sectors, the outplacement firm found. Amazon, UPS, Microsoft and other firms have recently announced layoffs.

In what could be another sign of a softening labor market, October layoffs jumped 175% from a year ago to 153,074, the highest level since 2003, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.

"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," Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. "Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market."

Job cuts so far this year have soared to more than 1 million, a 65% increase from last year at this time, driven by what Challenger, Gray & Christmas called the "DOGE Impact" – mass reductions to the federal workforce and government contractors as well as the loss of federal funding to private and nonprofit entities.

Year-to-date layoffs have reached their highest level since 2020, when there were more than 2 million job cuts through October. This has been the worst year for announced layoffs since 2009, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.

Challenger said it was surprising to see such a large wave of cutbacks in the fourth quarter, when firms typically shy away from announcing layoffs.

What’s more, more companies announced job cuts in October, Challenger said. The outplacement firm tracked 450 plans to cut jobs, up from less than 400 in September. That tops March, which saw the largest number of job cut announcements at about 350.

"At a time when job creation is at its lowest point in years, the optics of announcing layoffs in the fourth quarter are particularly unfavorable," Challenger said.

With official data gathering suspended during the government shutdown, investors are paying close attention to data from private sources like Challenger to understand what is happening in the labor market.

Federal reserve officials have expressed concern about the job market and the central bank has lowered its benchmark interest rate twice since September. The move brought the Fed’s benchmark interest rate down to a range of 3.75% to 4%. Some economists think another cut could come at the Fed’s December meeting, though Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has said a third straight reduction is not guaranteed.

Labor market watchers downplayed the Challenger report, saying Challenger has historically been a "poor predictor of future labor market conditions."

"But against the backdrop of a low-hire labor market this bout of corporate job-cutting does represent a bigger labor risk then the 2022 tech layoffs, when these workers were quicky scooped up by other industries," Vanguard said in a statement. "However, we ultimately expect that persistent labor supply constraints over the next three years will help offset the unemployment impact of cyclical and technological pressures."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Job cuts surge in worst October layoffs in 22 years. Here's why

Reporting by Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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