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Job cut announcements soared in March with federal workforce layoffs leading the way behind the Trump administration's actions to shrink government agencies.

U.S.-based employers announced 275,240 job cuts in March, up nearly 60% from last month and 205% from last year, according to the monthly report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. More than three-quarters of the job cuts were in the government sector, all of them federal positions.

"Job cut announcements were dominated last month by Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) plans to eliminate positions in the federal government," wrote Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "It would have otherwise been a fairly quiet month for layoffs."

Job cuts in the first quarter of 2025 were the highest they've been since Q1 2009, and March's cuts were the third-highest monthly total since the firm began tracking in 1989.

The report comes as the labor market has remained relatively steady despite elevated inflation and interest rates weighing on other parts of the economy. Forecasters are projecting that U.S. employers will have added 140,000 new positions in March when that monthly jobs report is released Friday.

DOGE Actions Attributed to 280,000 Layoffs Over Two Months

The firm put two months of DOGE layoffs of federal workers and contractors at 280,253, impacting 27 agencies. "Another 4,429 job cuts have come from the downstream effect of cutting federal aid or ending contracts, impacting mostly Non-Profits and Health organizations," it said.

The report also tracked 3,972 reports where announced federal layoffs were rescinded, though it noted that it was unclear if the workers returned to their positions.

Read the original article on Investopedia