The U.S. job market has taken a very worrisome turn for the worst. Data released by global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm, Challenger, Gray, and Christmas Incorporated, shows that in just the first two months of this year, 221,812 Americans have lost their jobs. These job cuts are 33% higher than for the entire 12 months of 2024.
February’s layoffs were the highest monthly job cuts level since July 2020, when factories and offices globally were being forced to shut because of the severity of the Covid pandemic. In recent decades, the only February that was worse for monthly job cuts, was February 2009, during the global financial crisis. “Private companies announced plans to shed thousands of jobs last month, particularly in Retail and Technology. With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE]
actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February,“ said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Of significant concern is that jobs are being cut in every sector of the economy throughout the whole country. Daily government and private sector announcements show that job cuts will continue for the foreseeable future.
Government Job Cuts
President Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s slashing of federal jobs has led to record losses in the government sector. As of the end of February, 62,530 government workers were fired in comparison to 151 in 2024. The 62, 530 jobs cut represent 28% of all jobs cut in the first two months of 2025; the remaining job cuts are in the private sector and in education.
At the time of this writing, Trump was preparing an Executive Order to dismantle the Department of Education; whether all employees will lose their jobs or whether some will be transferred to another part of government is unclear.
Private Sector Cuts and Slowdown in Hiring
While the media has rightly focused on the federal job cuts, those federal cuts, the whiplash effect of Trump’s tariff actions, and changes in technology, are all leading to significant losses in the private sector as well. Every time federal jobs are cut, those cuts lead to more job losses in the private sector given the significant number of accountants, consultant and auditors that provide services to every part of the government.
After government sector cuts, the largest cuts are in the retail, technology, consumer goods, and financial sectors. In the first two months of this year, a total of 45,375 retail jobs were cut; this is a staggering 570% increase the 6,751 retail jobs cut in the same period in 2024.
Uncertainty about the direction of Trump’s policies and a decrease in consumer spending is also slowing down any new hiring. According to ADP, private sector employment in February only grew by 77,000 jobs, barely half of what the economist consensus had forecast. Private sector jobs in January had grown by 186,000.
Most Job Cuts Are In The East
Job cuts in the eastern part of the U.S. in the last two months are over 100% higher than they were in 2024, overwhelmingly because of the DOGE cuts. Job losses in the state of New York are already 50% of what the losses were in 2024, primarily due to job cuts in retail, technology, and financial service sectors.
No Respite In Sight
Unfortunately, job cuts in the government, education, and private sectors will continue to increase. According to Forbes Contributor Chris Westfall, in just the first three days of March, almost 100 companies, big and small, announced upcoming layoffs. DOGE is also continuing to fire federal workers as well as independent financial regulatory professionals.
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