"Glassdoor reviewed Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data from 2015 to August 2025. After a layoff spike in spring 2020 and historically low layoff levels in 2021 and 2022, the number of full-time workers laid off each month has crept back up to pre-pandemic levels: The average number of workers that were laid off or discharged each month from 2015 to 2019 was around 1.8 million. Meanwhile, around 1.7 million workers were laid off or discharged in August 2025."
"Glassdoor also examined Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act layoff notifications (excluding notices for company closings) for further insight. The WARN Act is a federal law that requires most employers with 100 or more workers to provide advance notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. Layoffs affecting fewer than 50 people accounted for 38% of WARN notices in 2015. 51% of layoffs affected fewer than 50 people in 2025."
Monthly layoff counts have risen back to pre-pandemic levels after a spring 2020 spike and low 2021–2022 figures, with about 1.7 million workers laid off or discharged in August 2025 compared with an average of 1.8 million per month from 2015–2019. Smaller, more frequent layoffs—termed "forever layoffs"—now account for a growing share of job cuts. WARN Act notifications show layoffs affecting fewer than 50 people rose from 38% in 2015 to 51% in 2025, though WARN filing thresholds exclude many small layoffs. Rolling layoffs contribute to decreased morale, lower job satisfaction, and increased worker anxiety and insecurity.
Read at Fast Company
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