The overall U.S. jobs market has been struggling, a trend that’s especially evident in the retail sector, statistics included in a recent study by Challenger, Gray & Christmas show. The latest monthly jobs report by the outplacement and executive coaching firm reported that through November, employers have announced 1,170,821 job cuts, up 54% from the same period last year. For November alone, U.S.-based employers announced 71,321 job cuts, up 24% from the same month a year ago.
There was a bright spot: November’s job losses represented a 53% decrease from one month prior.
The situation is even more dire within the retail sector, whose participants have announced 91,954 job cuts, up 139% from the same period in 2024. And the-month-to month numbers went the opposite direction of the overall economy: For November alone, retail companies announced 3290 job cuts, up from 2431 in October.
Driving those numbers: retailers are adjusting workforce levels amid softening demand, tariff uncertainty and changing consumer preferences, CG&C reports.
“Layoff plans fell last month [in the overall economy], certainly a positive sign,” said Andy Challenger, the firm’s workplace expert and Chief Revenue Officer. “That said, job cuts in November have risen above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008.”
The usual uptick in retail hiring for the holiday season has only appeared in muted form this year (with just 372,520 reported such hires projected by CG&G this year, down from 660,150 in 2024), but that could change, said Challenger.
“The increased spending over the Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend may give rise to hires in December right before the holiday,” he said. “It’s unclear, however, if those positions will last into the New Year.”
Click the link at the bottom of this page to access the full report with data tables.