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A somewhat sobering Challenger, Grey & Christmas report issued Dec. 4 indicated that while retail job cuts had somewhat slowed from their earlier summer peak, as RetailWire previously covered, there was still a great deal of room for concern.
Among the report's findings:
- In the broadest terms, concerning all employment sectors recorded, employers cut 71,321 positions in November, up 24% from the 57,727 figure recorded in November 2024. However, it was an improvement over ominous October figures seeing 153,074 job losses. “Layoff plans fell last month, certainly a positive sign. That said, job cuts in November have risen above 70,000 only twice since 2008: in 2022 and in 2008,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger.
- Retailers announced 3,290 job cuts in November, trending upward from 2,431 job losses in October.
- So far in 2025, retailers have slashed 91,954 positions, up a staggering 139% from the 38,403 job losses recorded in the U.S. retail sector at this point last year. One silver lining: This figure was recorded, at the end of August, at 83,656 (up 242% YoY), meaning that the bulk of the job cuts had been recorded by that time -- and that terminations have slowed, in relative terms, in the interim.
These cuts were attributed to retailers "adjust[ing] workforce levels amid softening demand, tariff uncertainty, and changing consumer preferences." Similar reasoning was provided by Andrew Challenger, SVP and jobs expert for Challenger, around August's report.
“Retailers are being hard hit by tariffs, inflation, and ongoing economic uncertainty causing bankruptcies and closures. If tariffs and consumer spending constraints play out, the approaching holiday shopping season may see fewer seasonal hires and, in fact, high layoffs,” Challenger said as the summer drew to a close.
Will the Seemingly Healthy U.S. Holiday Spend Carry Over Into Next Year, or Translate Into More Retail Jobs?
Against the backdrop of a strong Cyber Week performance by U.S. retailers and consumers -- achieving $44.2 billion in spend versus $41.1 billion in 2024, outperforming Adobe Analytics' expectations, per Reuters -- and perhaps resultant optimism over the health of the holiday spend in general terms, a few other conversation topics (and questions) around the longevity of seasonal hires emerge.
Seasonal hires were broken out into specific retailers by the Challenger data, and although the data table was incomplete, it can reasonably be assumed that retail and service industries would capture the bulk of unreported hires. Through November, 372,520 seasonal hires were announced, with the majority of these being attributed to Amazon (250,000, the same as in 2024 and 2023), Spirit Halloween (50,000, the same as in 2024), and Bath & Body Works (32,000, slightly down from the two years prior).
Will these hires see any meaningful rate of retention, though? The answer is unclear, according to Andy Challenger.
"The increased spending over the Black Friday and the Thanksgiving weekend may give rise to hires in December right before the holiday. It’s unclear, however, if those positions will last into the New Year,” he said.