Feb. 2025 job cuts are the highest since Covid-19 peak

I was curious to know what industries Covid-19 were affecting presently in 2025 and found this interesting and short article on Forbes (I will copy it here for ease for you to read) and then give credit for this source by providing you the link to it here): https://www.forbes.com/sites/mayrarodriguezvalladares/2025/03/06/job-cuts-are-already-higher-than-all-of-2024/

Title of the Forbes article: February 2025 job cuts are the highest since Covid-19 peak
Article written by: Mayra Rodriguez Valladares, Senior Contributor 
Article published on my birthday (March 6, 2025)

The U.S. job market has taken a very worrisome turn. Data released by global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas Incorporated shows that in just the first two months of this year, 221,812 Americans have lost their jobs. These significant job cuts are 33% higher than the same period in 2024.

February’s layoffs were the highest monthly job cuts level since July 2020, when factories and offices globally were being forced to shut because of the severity of the Covid-19 pandemic. In recent decades, the only February that was worse for monthly job cuts, was February 2009 during the global financial crisis. “Private companies announced plans to shed thousands of jobs last month, particularly in Retail and Technology. With the impact of the Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] actions, as well as canceled Government contracts, fear of trade wars, and bankruptcies, job cuts soared in February,“ said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement.

Of significant concern is that jobs are being cut in every sector of the economy throughout the whole country. Daily government and private sector announcements show that job cuts will continue for the foreseeable future.

Government Job Cuts

President Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s slashing of federal jobs has led to record losses in the government sector. As of the end of February, 62,530 government workers were fired in comparison to 151 in 2024. The 62, 530 jobs cut represent 28% of all jobs cut in the first two months of 2025; the remaining job cuts are in the private sector and in education. At the time of this writing, Trump was reportedly preparing an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education; whether all employees will lose their jobs or whether some will be transferred to another part of government is unclear.

Private Sector Job Cuts And Slowdown In Hiring

While news headlines have rightly focused on the federal job cuts, those federal cuts, the whiplash effect of Trump’s tariff actions, and changes in technology, are all leading to significant losses in the private sector as well. Every time federal jobs are cut, those cuts lead to more job losses in the private sector given the significant number of accountants, consultants, and auditors that provide services to every part of the government. After government sector cuts, the largest cuts are in the retail, technology, consumer goods, and financial sectors. In the first two months of this year, a total of 45,375 retail jobs were cut; this is a staggering 570% increase from the 6,751 retail jobs cut in the same period in 2024.

Uncertainty about the direction of Trump’s policies and a decrease in consumer spending is also slowing down any new hiring. According to ADP, private sector employment in February only grew by 77,000 jobs, barely half of what the economists’ consensus had forecast. Private sector jobs in January had grown by 186,000.

Most Job Cuts Are In The East

Job cuts in the eastern part of the U.S. in the last two months are over 100% higher than they were in all of 2024, overwhelmingly because of the DOGE cuts. Job losses in the state of New York are already 50% of what the losses were in 2024, primarily due to job cuts in retail, technology, and financial service sectors.

No Respite In Sight

Unfortunately, job cuts in the government, education, and private sectors will continue to increase. According to Forbes Contributor Chris Westfall, in just the first three days of March, almost 100 companies, big and small, announced upcoming layoffs. DOGE is also continuing to fire federal workers as well as independent financial regulatory professionals.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ closely watched Nonfarm Payroll report released on March 7 also confirms that the labor market is weakening: 151,000 nonfarm jobs were added in February, and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%. The number of nonfarm jobs added is 11% lower than the 170,00 jobs economists had forecast. Moreover, when you consider that over 172,000 jobs were cut in February, the net jobs figure is negative.