“October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average for the month,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “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. Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labour market.”

Through October, employers have announced 1,099,500 job cuts, up 65% from the 664,839 cuts announced during the same period last year. It is also 44% higher than the 761,358 layoffs recorded for all of 2024.

Year-to-date job cuts are now at their highest level since 2020, when 2,304,755 layoffs were reported through October.

Not only did companies announce larger layoff totals in October, but more firms disclosed job cut plans.

Challenger tracked nearly 450 separate layoff announcements in October, compared with just under 400 in September.

By comparison, March, which saw the largest number of job cuts this year, recorded roughly 350 announcements, largely driven by cuts at the federal level.

October’s total was the highest for the month since October 2003, when 171,874 job cuts were reported, driven by layoffs in Retail after acquisitions and in Telecommunications as mobile phone adoption expanded.

“This is the highest total for October in over 20 years, and the highest total for a single month in the fourth quarter since 2008. Like in 2003, a disruptive technology is changing the landscape,” Challenger said.

Challenger added that layoffs in the fourth quarter have typically been avoided in recent years. “Over the last decade, companies have shied away from announcing layoffs in the fourth quarter, so it’s surprising to see so many in October. With the onset of social media, and the ability for workers to share their negative experiences with their employers, the trend of announcing layoffs before the holidays fell away, a practice that seemed particularly cruel.”

Between 2003 and 2013, fourth-quarter job cuts averaged 74,733 per month. In the following decade, the monthly average fell to 42,927. For October alone, the average from 2014 to 2024 was 47,086.

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