Job cuts and economic trends: A snapshot of the American job market

LAUREN TAYLOR:

IN THE LAST YEAR – AMERICAN CORPORATION JOHN DEERE HAS LAID OFF NEARLY A THOUSAND WORKERS WITH 650 JOB CUTS ANNOUNCED LAST WEEK.

*AND* THE TRACTOR COMPANY PLANS TO SEND MORE WORK TO MEXICO.

JOHN DEERE’S PROFITS DROPPED MORE THAN 6-BILLION DOLLARS FROM THIS TIME LAST YEAR, WITH ECONOMISTS POINTING TO SLOWER SALES OF NEW FARM EQUIPMENT BECAUSE OF HIGHER INTEREST RATES.

IT’S A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE WIDER JOB MARKET.

THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATS POSTED MAY’S JOB REPORT LAST FRIDAY – SHOWING THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE INCHED UP JUST POINT-1-PERCENT FROM 3.9% – BUT NOW SITS AT 4%.

ITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE THE START OF 2022 – 6.6 MILLION UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE.
HOWEVER — 276-THOUSAND JOBS WERE ADDED IN MAY – MUCH HIGHER THAN THE 185-THOUSAND JOBS ANALYSTS HAD PREDICTED.

AND ACCORDING TO ECONOMISTS — THE MAY JOBS REPORT MAKES IT UNLIKELY THE FED WILL REDUCE INTEREST RATES AS INFLATION REMAINS AT 3.6% — WELL ABOVE THE PREFERRED 2% TARGET RATE.

ALEXANDER MORRIS – CEO, F/M INVESTMENTS:

“AND DON’T FORGET WE’RE GOING TO THE SUMMER SEASON WHERE THINGS JUST GET A LITTLE SLOWER. SO, I THINK WE SHOULD EXPECT MORE OF THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR FOR THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.”

LAUREN TAYLOR: AND THOSE LAYOFFS AREN’T JUST HAPPENING AT JOHN DEERE.

OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS – SEVERAL INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCED JOB CUTS INCLUDING: TECHNOLOGY, RETAIL, HEALTHCARE, FINANCIAL, AUTOMOTIVE AND MEDIA.

IN 2023 – JOB CUTS SOARED TO THEIR HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE THE PANDEMIC IN 2020 – WITH MOST HAPPENING IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE YEAR.

TECH COMPANIES LIKE META AND AMAZON ANNOUNCED THEY WERE SLASHING JOBS AND THE CHALLENGER REPORT, WHICH TRACKS JOB CUTS, SHOWS – TECH LED THE COUNTRY WITH A 73% INCREASE IN JOB CUTS THAT YEAR – JUST SHY OF RECORD SET IN 2001.

THE JOB CUTS SLOWED DOWN IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER LAST YEAR – HOWEVER – FURTHER REDUCTIONS HAVE PICKED UP IN THE FIRST HALF OF 2024 — THOUGH THEY REMAIN LOWER THAN A YEAR AGO.

GOOGLE, AMAZON, TESLA, MICROSOFT AND NIKE – ALL ANNOUNCED CUTS FOR THIS YEAR.

ACCORDING TO A SURVEY CONDUCTED BY RESUME BUILDER IN LATE 2023 –FOUR IN TEN BUSINESS LEADERS SAID THEIR COMPANIES WERE LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE LAYOFFS THIS YEAR – AND 52% SAID A HIRING FREEZE WOULD LIKELY GO INTO EFFECT AT THEIR COMPANIES, AS WELL.

NEARLY 70% OF THOSE BUSINESS LEADERS CITING A NEED TO REDUCE COSTS – AND JUST OVER 50% SAYING THEY ANTICIPATED A POSSIBLE RECESSION.

ACCORDING TO THE CHALLENGER REPORT, IN APRIL, US-BASED EMPLOYERS ANNOUNCED NEARLY 65-THOUSAND LAYOFFS – A 28% DROP FROM THE MORE THAN 90-THOUSAND ANNOUNCED IN MARCH.

SO WHETHER UNEMPLOYMENT CONTINUES TO RISE OR IF INFLATION COOLS THIS SUMMER – IT’S TOO SOON TO TELL.

FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS, I’M LT…
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