Layoffs in the U.S. Jump Dramatically

Bob Stokes on April 10, 2023

An executive with a well-known company which specializes in outplacement and career transition services says companies are approaching 2023 with caution.

“Caution” is a key characteristic of a deflationary psychology.

In turn, the number of pink slips handed out in the U.S. has substantially risen, especially in the tech sector.

Here are some details (CNBC, April 6):

  • Job cuts have soared to 270,416 so far in 2023, an increase of 396% from the same period a year ago.
  • The damage was especially bad in tech, which has announced 102,391 cuts so far in 2023. That’s a staggering increase of 38,487% from a year ago.

The Elliott Wave Financial Forecast has been on top of this job cuts trend. Here’s a chart and commentary from the February issue:

This chart shows the latest job postings data from Indeed.com, the new No. 1 job site. The percentage change in overall job postings is also crashing. From a peak of 67% in January 2022, postings plunged to -7.5% in November. The Fed’s data do not register Indeed’s latest readings, which show continued declines in postings in January. The plunge is similar to that of 2007, suggesting that the start of an economic contraction is, once again, close by.