Workspan Daily News Bytes for Feb. 6, 2026

American Layoffs Surged to Highest January Total Since 2009

U.S.-based employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, an increase of 118% from the 49,795 cuts announced in January 2025 and a 205% increase from the 35,553 announced in December 2025, according to a report released Thursday, Feb. 5, from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Last month’s figure is the highest January total since 2009, when 241,749 job cuts were announced. It’s also the highest monthly total since October 2025, when 153,074 cuts were recorded.

“Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026,” said Andy Challenger, the chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

What drove layoffs in January? Contract loss led all cited reasons, with 30,784 related layoffs announced during the month. Market and economic conditions followed with 28,392. Restructuring was cited for 20,044, while store, unit or department closings accounted for 12,738.

Artificial intelligence (AI) was cited for 7,624 job cuts, 7% of the month’s total. Employers referenced AI for 54,836 announced layoff plans in 2025. Since 2023, when this reason was first tracked, AI has been cited in 79,449 layoff announcements (3% of all layoff plans during that period).

“It’s difficult to say how big an impact AI is having on layoffs specifically. We know leaders are talking about AI, many companies want to implement it in operations, and the market appears to be rewarding companies that mention it,” said Challenger.

U.S. Jobs Report for January Delayed Until Feb. 11

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced Wednesday, Feb. 4, the new release date for the January jobs report. The agency pushed back their publication, which was slated for release on Friday, Feb. 6, after a partial government shutdown temporarily paused operations this week.

The January findings will now be made public on Wednesday, Feb. 11.

Additionally, the BLS said January’s consumer price index and real earnings reports will now be released next Friday, Feb. 13.

December JOLTS Report Showed Fewer U.S. Job Openings

The number of job openings continued to trend down to 6.5 million in December, according to the BLS in its U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), published Thursday, Feb. 5. In December, both hires and total separations were little changed at 5.3 million each. Within separations, quits (3.2 million) were unchanged while layoffs and discharges (1.8 million) were little changed.

The number of job openings trended down to 6.5 million (-386,000) in December and was down by 966,000 over the year. The job openings rate, at 3.9%, changed little over the month. The number of job openings decreased in professional and business services (-257,000), retail trade (-195,000), and finance and insurance (-120,000).

The number and rate of hires were little changed at 5.3 million and 3.3%, respectively. The number of hires increased in real estate and rental and leasing (+38,000) and in state and local government, excluding education (+36,000). Hires decreased in federal government (-11,000).

The number and rate of total separations (including quits, layoffs and discharges) were little changed at 5.3 million and 3.3%, respectively. The number of total separations decreased in professional and business services (-212,000) and in private educational services (-20,000). Total separations increased in transportation, warehousing and utilities (+110,000) and in federal government (+10,000).

Private-Sector Hiring Shows Weakness, But Wage Growth Holds Steady

U.S. private-sector employers added 22,000 jobs in January, while pay was up 4.5% year-over-year, according to the latest data report, released Wednesday, Feb. 4, by payroll processing firm ADP. The new-jobs total was less than the downwardly revised 37,000 increase in December and below the Dow Jones consensus forecast of 45,000 for January.

“Job creation took a step back in 2025, with private employers adding 398,000 jobs, down from 771,000 in 2024,” said ADP chief economist Nela Richardson. “While we’ve seen a continuous and dramatic slowdown in job creation for the past three years, wage growth has remained stable.”

The healthcare sector was a standout last month, adding 74,000 jobs. Financial activities added 14,000 positions, while construction rose by 9,000 and both the trade, transportation and utilities industry and leisure and hospitality industry contributed 4,000.

However, several sectors reported losses.

Professional and business services fell by 57,000, the “other services” category lost 13,000 and manufacturing shed 8,000.

Although pay growth for job-stayers was little changed in January, annualized pay growth for job-changers slowed from December’s 6.6% but, at 6.4%, remained generally robust.

Financial services had the largest median annual pay bump for job-stayers, at 5.2%. Information services and “other services” were near the bottom of the list, at 4.1%.

End-of-Year Bonuses Rose and Reached More Workers in 2025

In December 2025, the average year-end bonus at small businesses was $2,789, up 11.5% from December 2024, according to end-of-year bonus data by HR software company Gusto. This marks a sharp increase from last year’s trend, when end-of-year bonuses increased by just 2% overall and many industries saw flat or declining bonuses.

Growth in bonus payments was widespread across industries. Most sectors saw higher average bonuses in 2025 than in 2024, with particularly strong gains in experience-driven industries. Tourism and accommodations (+52%) and entertainment and recreation (+45%) posted the largest increases, far exceeding the overall average.

A possible contributor to higher bonus pay is productivity gains, particularly those stemming from AI adoption, which may be showing up first in variable pay rather than base wages, said Gusto economist Tom Bowen.

Additionally, bonuses also reached more workers this year: 18% of employees received a bonus in December 2025, an 8% increase from December 2024. The largest increases occurred in the manufacturing and construction sector, where a notably higher share of employees received a bonus in 2025 than in the prior year (20.3% compared to 17.4%).

Faced with Talent Crisis, HR Leaders See AI as Emerging Recruitment Tool

Sixty-two percent of HR leaders said their industry was facing a self-inflicted talent crisis, and outdated hiring practices were the culprit. This is according to a new HR trends report by iSolved, a human capital management software company.

“HR leaders know there are plenty of qualified candidates out there, but they’re losing them during the hiring process,” said Heidi Barnett, iSolved’s president of talent acquisition. “Many companies will miss this influx of job-seeking talent by posting roles with unclear requirements and inflated expectations for skills and experience. HR is unsure how to go back to the drawing board and build a recruitment strategy that truly attracts top talent.”

The report findings suggest AI utilization as one solution. Sixty-nine percent of surveyed HR leaders say they’re leveraging AI, and 64% believe it positively impacts their payroll and recruitment responsibilities.

According to the report, organizations leveraging AI to detect anomalies before payroll runs not only reduce compliance, risk and costly errors, but also protect employee trust. Sixty-five percent of surveyed HR leaders say AI helps them work more efficiently, using AI-powered assistants to answer common questions about paid time off (PTO), holidays and benefits eligibility.

The report also found 48% of HR leaders are dealing with a skills crisis due to a lack of agility as workers try to adapt to technology and industry shifts. Surveyed respondents saw the greatest value of professional development in the following areas:

Improving employee skill sets, productivity and efficiency (46%)
Employee retention and engagement (45%)
Leadership development and succession planning (41%)

“HR has a tough job. They must do right by their organization, empower and support employees, and ensure their people strategy drives the outcomes the C-suite wants. That’s a tricky balancing act,” said Amy Mosher, iSolved’s chief people officer. “Luckily, AI, HCM [human capital management] and other cutting-edge technologies are more sophisticated than ever, helping HR move beyond tedious tasks and operate with greater strategic impact.”

Lawsuit: AI Hiring Platform Created Unauthorized ‘Hidden Credit Reports’

A group of job applicants is suing hiring platform Eightfold AI for allegedly using AI to build credit reports without their consent or knowledge, according to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Jan. 20.

The suit alleges Eightfold violated federal and state consumer protection laws by creating “hidden credit reports” on job seekers without complying with statutory requirements imposed on consumer reporting agencies, including obtaining proper certifications from employment-purposed end-users, as laid out in the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and California state law, where the lawsuit was filed.

The plaintiffs allege they received none of the FCRA protections, such as written disclosure and written authorization, when applying for jobs through Eightfold’s platform. They claim they were never told that a consumer report would be created, never authorized its creation, and never had an opportunity to review or dispute the information before being rejected.

While more lawsuits are being filed against AI hiring systems for alleged discrimination, legal experts said this could be the first to take the position that an AI tool could lead to a FCRA violation.

Arizona Senator’s Bill Calls for $20-Per-Hour Federal Minimum Wage

Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) on Thursday, Feb. 5, introduced a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $20 per hour. The current federal hourly minimum wage is $7.50.

The Give America a Raise Act will likely face an uphill battle given the Republicans’ current control of the Senate and House of Representatives. If passed, however, the increase would occur over a span of three years and would be indexed to either inflation or gross domestic product growth.

“Across the country, people are struggling to make ends meets. But as the cost of groceries, housing and utilities continue to go up, the minimum wage has remained stagnate for over a decade,” Gallego said in a prepared statement. “No one who works full time in this country should live in poverty. Building an economy that works for working people starts with ensuring not just a minimum wage but a living wage, and that’s what this bill does.”

Figures and Facts of the Week

16: The percentage of HR professionals in the U.S. who say they completely trust AI agents to reliably complete repetitive tasks, according to a new report by People Managing People, an HR services platform. The report also found 30% of surveyed HR professionals trust AI agents only a little or not at all, suggesting there are leadership concerns about reliability, risk and accountability.
42: The percentage of women that voluntarily left their jobs who reported caregiving responsibilities, including the cost of childcare, drove their decision to exit the U.S. workforce in 2025, according to a new report by Catalyst, a nonprofit organization focused on women’s advancement.
43: The percentage of U.S. HR teams and C-suite leader who expect most or all of their organization’s talent acquisition processes to be handled primarily by AI by the end of 2026, according to new research from global talent solutions business AMS. However, human judgment still matters, with more than three-quarters of respondents saying they value soft skills more due to rapid developments in AI.
55: The percentage of working Americans who found it hard to “switch off” and relax after work, according to a survey by RS, a provider of industrial equipment and operations. The No. 1 reason, according to the respondents, was because they felt the need to check emails outside of work hours (47%).
80: The percentage of U.S. employers who say their financial health programs struggle to demonstrate positive financial outcomes, according to new research from Everest Group, a global research firm. Surveyed employers directly linked employee financial wellness to operational performance, citing reduced financial stress, fewer distractions, higher productivity and stronger retention as measurable drivers of business outcomes.

Editor’s Note: Additional Content

For more information and resources related to this article, see the pages below, which offer quick access to all WorldatWork content on these topics: