Layoffs in January were the highest to start a year since 2009, Challenger says

Layoff plans hit their highest January total since the global financial crisis while hiring intentions reached their lowest since the same period, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009, while the economy was in the final months of its steepest downturn since the Great Depression.

At the same time, companies announced just 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, which is when Challenger began tracking such data. The crisis recession officially ended in March 2009.

With the recent narrative centering on a no-hire, no-fire labor market, the Challenger data suggests that the layoff part of the equation could be stepping up.

“Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for the firm. “It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026.”

To be sure, if employers are stepping up plans to furlough workers, it hasn't been showing up much in official government data.