US Bank Asset Management Group chief investment strategist Rob Haworth discusses ADP’s February private equity report and how the Middle East conflict could impact markets on ‘The Claman Countdown.’
Layoffs eased in February as new data showed U.S. employers announced fewer termination of employment last month after they were raised to start the year, new information shows.
U.S. employers announced 48,307 job cuts in February, according to a report by global coach and coach firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This figure is down 55% from the 108,435 job cuts announced in January, and down 72% from the 172,017 job cuts announced in the same month last year.
Layoff announcements combined to 156,742 in January and February, the lowest number in the first two months of the year since the 34,309 announced in 2022. This figure is also the fifth highest January-February total on record since 2009.
“February’s dip is a nice reversal from the high job cut plans to start the year. With the US’s involvement in the escalating war in Iran, the end of Q1 could bring more layoff plans as companies tighten their belts amid uncertainty and higher costs,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
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Layoff announcements fell in February after a high start to the year. (Allison Joyce/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
I technology industry announced the most layoffs in February, as firms announced 11,039 layoffs for the month, bringing the total for the year to 33,330 – up 51% from the 22,042 cuts announced in the sector in the first two months of last year.
“Tech is responding to many pressures at the moment. AI is a big issue, but there are also global regulatory concerns, the decline of digital advertising driven by taxes and economic uncertainty, and the high costs of both hiring workers and accessing capital, forcing companies to make difficult decisions,” said Challenger.
The transportation sector announced a reduction of 31,702 jobs in 2026, the second largest of any sector and an increase of 872% from the 3,261 announced during the same period last year. The report noted that war in Iran there is likely to be an impact on shipping companies due to oil costs and supply disruptions.
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The Iran war could cause further disruption to the transport sector due to the impact on oil prices and supply chains, the report said. (Hussein Faleh/AFP via Getty Images)
Healthcare companies and health products manufacturers, a category that includes hospitals, announced 19,228 job cuts so far this year in the highest January-February period since 2021, when 20,245 cuts were recorded in the sector during that period.
Education they had a second layoff announcement in February of 5,417. That brings the effective total for 2026 to 6,209 – up 96% from the 3,160 cuts announced in February 2025.
Challenger noted that school districts “typically approve budgets and censuses in February,” adding that “with declining enrollment, especially in large cities, state funding cuts and rising costs, schools are cutting more staff than last year.”
Job cuts in January and February were the lowest to start a year since 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Industrial production Firms cut 4,109 jobs in February, bringing the total for 2026 to 5,685, a 143% increase from the 2,341 cuts announced in the sector in the first two months of last year.
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The top reasons cited by companies announcing job cuts in February were store or department closings at 10,736, market and economic conditions by 10,114, restructuring by 9,146 and reducing costs by another 5,636.
In the first two months of the year, market and economic conditions were cited as the cause of 38,506 layoffs, followed by contract losses at 31,416, restructuring at 29,190, and closings at 23,474.
Artificial intelligence (AI) cited 4,680 job cuts in February, representing about 10% of the month’s total cuts. In the first two months of 2026, AI was cited in 12,304 304 announcements, or 8% of total layoff plans.
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Hiring plans rose 140% in February to 12,755 after 5,306 were reported in January. This number is down 63% to 34,580 recruitment plans in February 2025.
Employers have announced plans to hire 18,061 workers in 2026 so far, down 56 percent from the 40,669 new hires announced in the first two months of 2025.
