Healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals, announced the second-most job cuts among 30 industries and sectors measured in July, according to one new analysis.
The finding comes from an Aug. 3 report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm that examines job cuts by U.S.-based employers.
Healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals, announced 2,668 job cuts in July, second only to technology, which announced 4,738 cuts. In total, healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals, have announced 40,947 job cuts in the first seven months of 2023, up 101 percent from the 20,341 cuts announced through the same period of 2022.
Becker's has reported on at least 74 hospitals and health systems trimming their workforces or jobs due to financial and operational challenges. Job cuts have included the C-suite.
All U.S.-based employers tracked by Challenger, Gray & Christmas announced 23,697 job cuts in July, down 42 percent from the 40,709 job cuts announced one month prior. In the first seven months of this year, companies announced plans to cut 481,906 jobs, a 203 percent increase from the 159,021 job cuts announced in the same period of 2022.
"The job market is remaining resilient in the face of rising interest rates as consumers continue to spend and inflation falls," Andrew Challenger, labor expert and senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in the report. "Companies, weary of letting go of needed workers, are finding other ways to cut costs. Many have slowed hiring, but wages continue to rise, particularly for the lowest-wage earners, for the moment."