Hello and welcome to The Economic Pulse. This week, layoffs are surging as 2025 becomes the year of the pink slip. U.S. employers announced almost 100,000 job cuts in May—a 47 percent jump from last year, reports Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Senior vice president Andrew Challenger warns, “Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies’ workforces.”

Six months into 2025, we have seen nearly 700,000 job cuts—an 80 percent increase from the same period in 2024. The services sector led May with over 22,000 layoffs, its worst month since 2020. Retail followed with 11,483 cuts, up 274 percent year-to-date, while nonprofits logged a 504 percent surge. Tech firms cut 24,467 roles in May, bringing total tech layoffs to nearly 75,000—a 35 percent year-over-year rise. Procter & Gamble also plans to eliminate 7,000 white-collar jobs over the next two years. Stay with us as we break down what this means for the economy.
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