Healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals, announced the fourth-most job cuts among 30 industries and sectors measured in the first half of 2023, according to one new analysis.
The finding comes from a July 6 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 38,279 job cuts in the first half of 2023, up 97 percent from the 19,390 cuts announced in the same period of 2022.
All U.S.-based employers tracked by Challenger, Gray & Christmas announced 40,709 cuts in June, down 49 percent from the 80,089 cuts announced the month prior. In the first half of this year, companies announced 458,209 job cuts, a 244 percent increase from the 133,211 cuts announced through June 2022. It is the highest total for January through June since 2020, when 1,585,047 cuts were recorded. Technology announced the most job cuts in the first half 2023, followed by retail; financial; healthcare/products companies and manufacturers, including hospitals; and services.
"The drop in cuts is not unusual for the summer months. In fact, June is historically the slowest month on average for announcements. It is also possible that the deep job losses predicted due to inflation and interest rates will not come to pass, particularly as the Fed holds rates," Andrew Challenger, labor expert and senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in the report.