Job-Letting Will Not End Before Pandemic Ends

from Challenger Gray and Christmas

The employment situation released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a loss of 140,000 jobs in December as the pandemic continues to ravage consumer demand and lockdowns limit business operations.

“The longer the pandemic continues – the longer it takes for vaccines to be administered – the greater the destruction of jobs and businesses, particularly small businesses, will be,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

“The job-letting will not end before the pandemic. In fact, we likely will not see the full ramifications of this downturn until years after the pandemic ends, when we get a better picture of just how many jobs were wiped out completely during this period.

“The jobs in entertainment and leisure, a sector hit the hardest during the lockdowns, will return in waves over the next few years. But only to those companies that can survive,” he added.

In December, 77,030 job cuts were announced by U.S.-based companies, according to Challenger tracking, up 19% from the 64,797 in November. In 2020, 2,304,755 job cuts were announced, 289% higher than the 592,556 cuts announced in 2019. It is the highest annual total on record, and 17.8% higher than the previous record high of 1,956,876 cuts recorded in 2001.

“Initial jobless claims, hovering near 800,000 every week, speak to this ongoing job destruction. We’ll continue to see high claims as companies let go of their seasonal workers and determine operations in 2021,” said Challenger.

JOB CUTS BY INDUSTRY

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