September 2026 Job Cuts Report

NATIONWIDE — Employers announced fewer job cuts this September than in any September of the past three years, and new claims for unemployment benefits stayed low through the end of the month. Underneath that calm headline, technology and transportation are still cutting, and the holiday hiring wave that usually shows up by now has barely started.

U.S. employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September 2026, down 20% from a year earlier, while announced hiring plans fell 23% and only two retailers had named seasonal hiring numbers.

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Announced job cuts, September 2026	43,281 (Challenger, Gray & Christmas)
Change from August 2026	Down 18%, from 52,881
Change from September 2025	Down 20%, from 54,064
Announced cuts, January to September 2026	573,195, down 39% from the same period of 2025
Announced hiring plans, September 2026	90,787, down 23% from September 2025
New jobless claims, week ending September 26	197,000, seasonally adjusted (U.S. Department of Labor)

📊 What the Numbers Say About Layoffs Right Now

The layoff count comes from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement firm that tallies job cuts companies announce publicly each month. Its October 1 report counted 43,281 announced cuts in September 2026. That is down 18% from August and 20% from September 2025, and it is the lowest September total since 2022, when the firm recorded 29,989.

For the first nine months of the year, announced cuts totaled 573,195, down 39% from 946,426 in the same stretch of 2025. Much of that drop is government. Last year's total was swollen by government cuts, and Challenger reports government cuts are down 92% this year. Leave government out and announced cuts are down 15%, to 550,185 from 646,671. That is a real improvement, just a smaller one than the headline suggests.

Keep in mind what this count is. Challenger tracks announced plans, not people who actually lost a job that month, and its figures are not seasonally adjusted. Some announced cuts happen months later or never happen at all.

The federal data points the same way. The U.S. Department of Labor reported on October 1 that initial claims for unemployment benefits were 197,000 in the week ending September 26, seasonally adjusted, down 1,000 from the prior week. Continuing claims, people still collecting benefits, were 1,701,000 in the week ending September 19. Low new claims mean few people are being pushed out of work. They do not mean jobs are easy to find, and that is the catch in this report.

Which Industries Are Still Cutting

Technology is the exception to the calm. Tech companies announced 10,799 cuts in September, up 77% from August, and 165,925 for the year so far, up 54% from the first nine months of 2025. No other industry comes close this year.

Transportation is second on the year-to-date list with 44,430 announced cuts, up 190% from last year. Health care and health products companies have announced 37,417 cuts this year, down 6% from last year.

Why Employers Say They Are Cutting

Challenger records the reason each employer gives. In September, the most-cited reason was market and economic conditions, with 8,789 cuts. Closings came next at 7,719. Demand downturn was cited for 6,515 cuts, its highest monthly figure since February 2023, and restructuring for 6,243.

Artificial intelligence ranked fifth in September, with 3,961 cuts, about 9% of the month. Across the year it is a different story: AI has been cited in 120,136 announced cuts since January, about 21% of the total, more than any other reason. That is what companies say in their announcements, so read it as a signal about where employers are putting their money, not as a count of jobs a machine is now doing.

Hiring Plans Are Up for the Year, Down for the Season

Employers announced plans to hire 90,787 workers in September, a big jump from August's 12,325 but down 23% from the 117,313 announced in September 2025. Retail led every industry in September, with 65,150 announced hires. For the year, hiring plans total 210,612, up 3% from the same point in 2025.

The seasonal picture is thin. Challenger reports that Spirit Halloween and Michaels are the only retailers that have announced seasonal hiring numbers this year, a combined 62,000. Big names that usually announce in the fall had not, as of the report. If you want a holiday job, waiting for the headline number is the wrong move. Several retailers already have holiday hiring days on the calendar, and postings are going up store by store.

🔎 What This Means for Your Search

Three practical takeaways. If you work in tech, the cuts are real but the skills travel: IT support, data analysis, project management and customer success roles sit in every industry, not just at software companies. If you want seasonal work, apply now rather than waiting for a hiring blitz that may stay small this year. And if you are in transportation, warehouse and local delivery roles are worth a look alongside long-haul driving.

Start here:

🗺️ Where to Look in Your City

The report does not break cuts down by city, so these are network markets where tech and freight employers cluster, the two industries carrying this year's cuts.

Not on the list? Find your city.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are layoffs going up or down in 2026?

Down. Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 573,195 announced job cuts from January through September 2026, 39% fewer than the same months of 2025. Excluding government, the drop is 15%.

Which industry has the most layoffs in 2026?

Technology, by a wide margin. Tech companies announced 165,925 cuts through September, up 54% from a year earlier. Transportation is second with 44,430.

Is AI causing layoffs?

Employers cited artificial intelligence in 120,136 announced cuts through September 2026, about 21% of the total and the most of any reason, according to Challenger. That is the reason companies gave, not an independent measure, and in September alone AI ranked fifth.

Is seasonal hiring down this year?

Announcements are. As of Challenger's October 1 report, only Spirit Halloween and Michaels had announced seasonal hiring numbers, a combined 62,000. Retailers are still posting seasonal jobs, so apply directly rather than waiting for announcements.

What is the difference between job cuts and jobless claims?

Challenger counts layoffs companies announce, which may happen later. Weekly jobless claims from the Department of Labor count people who actually filed for unemployment benefits. Claims were 197,000 in the week ending September 26, seasonally adjusted.

Get Ahead of the Next Posting

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September 2026 Job Cuts Hit Lowest Level Since 2022: What It Means for Your Search