US layoffs hit 5-year high, but job market still steady
Jobless claims in the US ticked up a bit at the end of December, with 208,000 people filing for unemployment—an increase of 8,000.
Even so, layoffs are still low compared to past years.
The holiday season and some tricky adjustments make these numbers a little harder to read.
Fewer job openings as AI and cost-cutting shake things up
Job openings just dropped to their lowest point in over a year, amid cost-cutting by companies and the growing adoption of AI technology.
Layoffs jumped 58% in 2025—especially in government and tech—while hiring plans fell to their lowest since 2010.
Andy Challenger from Challenger, Gray & Christmas points out that AI advancements and past over-hiring are big reasons for tech job cuts.
Despite all this, the overall labor market is still holding up better than you might expect.