Recent Employment Data

In April 2025, the United States experienced a notable slowdown in job growth, with employers becoming increasingly cautious about hiring. Despite a steady demand for labor, the overall outlook for the labor market is becoming less optimistic.

LiveNOW from FOX recently featured a discussion with Jessica Kriegel, Chief Strategy Officer at Culture Partners, who analyzed the implications of these trends on the current job landscape.

Layoffs: A Widespread Concern

This year has already seen numerous companies implementing layoffs, contributing to a jittery employment ecosystem. In early 2025, thousands of employees have been affected across diverse industries.

Among the key announcements:

• Southwest Airlines plans to reduce its workforce by 15%, marking its first-ever mass layoffs.
• Meta has also reported cutting approximately 3,600 jobs globally, including significant reductions in the Bay Area.

Statistics on Job Cuts

According to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, close to 49,800 jobs were eliminated in January 2025, marking the lowest number of job cuts in three years, although this was a sharp 28% increase from December 2024. Senior Vice President Andrew Challenger pointed out, “January was relatively quiet in terms of job cut announcements,” but warned that the trend is likely to shift.

Federal Employment Impact

The trend of layoffs is not restricted to the private sector. Thousands of federal employees have faced job cuts as the current administration pushes for significant reductions across various departments.

Departments impacted include:

• Veterans Affairs
• Education
• Energy
• Health and Human Services
• Homeland Security
• IRS
• National Park Service
• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
• Agriculture
• Justice Department
• Inspector Generals
• State Departments

As of now, the total number of federal layoffs remains unreported, prompting further scrutiny on government employment strategies.