The number of layoffs in the month of March was the highest of any single month since January of 2023, reflecting the ongoing economic struggles of most Americans due to high inflation.
As reported by the Daily Caller, approximately 90,309 Americans were fired in the month of March, a 7% increase from the 84,638 who were laid off in February, which itself was a slight increase from the 82,307 firings in January. As a result, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9%, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. The previous record high in recent memory was 117,163 layoffs in January of 2023.
“Layoffs certainly ticked up to round out the first quarter, though below last year’s levels,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., in the report. “Many companies appear to be reverting to a ‘do more with less’ approach. While Technology continues to lead all industries so far this year, several industries, including Energy and Industrial Manufacturing, are cutting more jobs this year than last.”
With the first three months of 2024 now in the past, a total of 257,254 Americans were laid off in the first quarter.
The sectors most impacted by the layoffs were the technology sector, with 42,442 layoffs in the first quarter of 2024, followed by government jobs, which lost 36,044 positions in March alone, marking the highest monthly loss of government jobs since September of 2011.
The latest news also continues an ongoing trend of government estimates of job growth often over-shooting the final mark. In the year 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently overestimated the amount of jobs created per month by an average of 105,000, thus amounting to about 1.3 million less jobs than projected.
Inflation remains one of the primary causes of most economic struggles in the U.S. today. Average prices have risen by 18.5% since Joe Biden first came to power in January of 2021, with a 3.2% increase year-over-year. In response, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate to a range of between 5.25% and 5.50%, which has added more financial pressure on employers due to a subsequent rise in the cost of credit.