(Bloomberg) -- US companies announced plans to hire just 5,376 workers in January, the lowest total for that month on record. That follows the lowest monthly hiring total of any month in December.
While hirings are weak, job cuts are picking up too, according to a monthly report published Thursday by the executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Companies announced plans to cut 82,307 positions last month, up 136% from December. The job cuts last month were the most of any in January since 2009, when the US was in the mist of the Great Recession.
The reductions in January were led by Finance companies, which announced 23,238 job cuts. This was the highest monthly total for the sector in more than five years. The technology sector followed with 15,806 layoffs, and retailers cut 5,364 after the holiday season.
Read More: Media Layoffs Top 3,000 in Past Year as Digital Ads Disappoint
Last month, “restructuring” was the most-cited reason for job cuts, with 28,329. This was followed by plant, store and unit “closing,” which accounted for 14,555 cuts.
Artificial intelligence was cited for 381 job cuts in January. Since Challenger first started tracking AI related job cuts in May 2023, firms have announced 4,628 job cuts because of a pivot to developing the technology or because it replaced tasks and roles.
“The impact of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence adoption is beginning to be felt from a jobs perspective, particularly in Media and Tech, but truly across sectors,” Vice President Andrew Challenger said in the release.
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