Industries that laid off the most workers in June
Layoffs are down from a year ago, but job cuts across major U.S. employers and rising unemployment in some states are leaving Americans anxious and uncertain.
June layoffs were down 11% from the previous month, and 6% from 2023. That represents about 91,000 fewer layoffs nationwide in June 2024 compared to the same time last year. Notably, 2023 saw a major spike in job losses, with about 2 million more layoffs than the previous year; these levels still remained far below pre-COVID levels, at 19.8 million layoffs in 2023 compared to 21.8 million in 2019.
Despite layoffs in certain sectors, key indicators reflect a stable job market. The June layoff rate fell below 1%, and the national unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%. Both figures have been relatively consistent since early 2022. Still, unemployment is up in over half of states and in a majority of U.S. metro areas since June 2023. Discouraged by these rates and news of layoffs at major employers like Google and Tesla, Americans are likely to remain financially cautious, saving funds in case of a future downturn.
Many economists and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen agree that the U.S. economy is poised for a "soft landing." This would be signaled by ongoing monthly job creation, moderate gross domestic product growth, and inflation finally winding down to the Federal Reserve's 2% target—though the jobless rate may slowly rise.
Stacker used Bureau of Labor Statistics data to rank 19 major industries by the number of layoffs in June 2024 to see which industries have been most affected by new layoffs. The analysis uses seasonally adjusted data. Numbers for the month are preliminary and may be updated.
