Jobless Claims Jumped Last Week As ‘DOGE Actions’ Spark Biggest YTD Layoffs Since 2020

So far this year, employers have announced 602,493, the highest year-to-date total since 2020 when 1,017,812 job cuts were recorded, according to the latest data from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

It is up 87% from the 322,043 cuts announced during the same period in 2024.

The Government leads all sectors in job cuts this year with 282,227; 281,452 of which are attributed to DOGE-related cost-cutting. 

This is up 680% from the 36,195 job cuts announced in this sector through April 2024. In April, the number of job cuts announced in this industry was 2,782. DOGE actions were attributed to 2,731, while the rest were attributed to “Economic Conditions” and “Cost-Cutting.”

• “DOGE Actions” lead all job cut reasons in 2025 with 283,172; 2,919 of which occurred in April. Another 6,945 cuts were attributed to “DOGE Downstream Impact” through April, primarily at Non-Profits and Education organizations. These reasons combined (290,117) make up 48% of all job cuts announced so far in 2025. 

• Market/Economic Conditions were cited for 95,348 job cuts, as economic uncertainty, consumer spending, and trade difficulties impact US-companies. 

Tariffs were cited for 1,413 cuts so far this year, with 1,350 occurring in April. Restructuring accounted for 67,627, and 60,551 were due to store, unit, or location “Closing.”

This weak labor market data comes on the heels of yesterday’s dismal ADP Employment report.

This morning we see initial jobless claims jump notably too – to 241k (higher than the 223k expected). While not out of recent norms, this is a sizable jump…

Source: Bloomberg

Interestingly, New York dominated the surge in initial claims…

Continuing jobless claims also surged last week, back above 1.9 million Americans – its highest since Nov 2021…

Continuing claims for the ‘Deep TriState’ rose significantly last week…

Source: Bloomberg

As SouthBay Research highlights, the ~80K jump in Continuing Claims is relatively broad, with core drivers being New York (+14K), California (+9K), Connecticut (+5K), New Jersey (+4K), Texas (+6K). 

This most definitely points to economic headwinds translating into lower payrolls. 

While the 1-week 80K jump stems mainly from the seasonal adjustments (Non Seasonally Adjusted Continuing Claims rose 26K), it clearly points to lower hiring underway in the first 2-weeks of April. Precisely when the Nonfarm Payroll Survey was done.

Still, in context, it seems CEOs are all willing to whine about the economy but their actions speak louder than their words…

“Though the Government cuts are front and center, we saw job cuts across sectors last month. Generally, companies are citing the economy and new technology. Employers are slow to hire and limiting hiring plans as they wait and see what will happen with trade, supply chain, and consumer spending,” Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

…and none of this is a good sign for tomorrow’s all-important payrolls print.