US-based employers announced 60,602 job cuts in March, some 25% higher than what was seen in February. That being said, it is down roughly 78% from the 275,240 cuts announced during the same month last year. But as you can remember, that owed much to Trump and Elon Musk's DOGE initiative at the time.
"Removing the wave of federal layoffs announced in February and March of last year, job cut announcements in 2026 are closely following the pattern of 2025. Last year it was government, retail, and technology. This year, it’s technology, transportation, and healthcare."
The tech sector continues to be the one leading layoffs, with another 18,720 job cuts in March. The total in the sector for 2026 is already at 52,050 layoffs year-to-date. That is an increase of 40% from the 37,097 cuts in this sector announced in the same period last year. And the main reason seems to be AI-related.
"Companies are shifting budgets toward AI investments at the expense of jobs. The actual replacing of roles can be seen in Technology companies, where AI can replace coding functions. Other industries are testing the limits of this new technology, and while it can’t replace jobs completely, it is costing jobs."
As a whole, companies who cited AI as reason for cutting jobs led the rest of the pack with 15,341 layoffs announced during the month. That is almost 25% of the total cuts announced in March.
