March 2025 Sees Surge in Job Layoffs with Federal Government Leading the Way, According to Challenger, Gray and Christmas Report

CHICAGO (WLS) — The number of jobs cut in March was up 205% over the same period last year, according to a report.

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The report comes from Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a global outplacement and executive coaching firm.

275,000 jobs were slashed in March alone, which is a 60% increase from cuts made in February, according to the report.

More than 216,000 of those jobs were cuts made inside the federal government; the report found.

“It’s hard to see this as anything but a very strong headwind in an already shaky labor market,” commented Senior Vice President Andy Challenger from Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

The senior VP remarking the importance of the people whose jobs were cut.

“It’s really ego-shattering and identity-shattering,” he mentioned. “So much of us is tied up in our work. Just the human impact of this number of layoffs is pretty staggering.”

The eye-opening report comes as President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement.

“This will indeed be the golden age of America – it’s coming back,” Mr. Trump said.

Trump enforced a 10% tariff on imports from over 180 countries, along with imposing high income taxes on some of America’s key trade allies such as China and the European Union.

READ ALSO | What’s in Trump’s sweeping new tariff plan?

“Pedal to the metal,” Challenger said as he offered advice to those who lost their jobs. “Potential opportunities right now are very likely going to be greater than they are three, six, 12 months from now.”

The report also comes as markets took a plunge in early trading Thursday with stock prices down across the board.

“One key thing that I think a lot of economists are worried about is firms are going to respond by simply going ahead and raising prices in anticipation of some form of tariffs influencing their goods,” said Paul Poast, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.

According to the job cuts report from Challenger, Gray and Christmas, March’s total cuts is the third-highest monthly total ever recorded. It falls just behind cuts made during the early days of the COVID pandemic.