(AURN News) — President Donald Trump has highlighted recent job growth as evidence of a strong economy. But new data shows most of that growth is driven by government hiring, not the private sector — and a surge in job cuts is raising concern, particularly as Black unemployment increased last month while other groups saw improvement or remained stable, which AURN News reported this week.
According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. employers announced 247,256 job cuts in the second quarter of 2025 — the highest second-quarter total since 2020, when 1.2 million layoffs were reported during the early months of the pandemic.
The firm also reported that the government, retail, tech, media and nonprofit sectors are among the hardest hit. Government job cuts rose to 3,801 in June — a 46 percent increase from May. And retailers remain under pressure from tariffs, inflation and economic uncertainty.
“Retailers are one of the hardest hit business sectors by tariffs, inflation, and uncertainty. If consumer spending continues to fall, it could mean more job losses in this industry,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at the firm.
Market and economic conditions have led to 154,126 job cuts so far this year, according to the report. Another 107,142 layoffs have come from closures of stores, units or plants. Restructuring efforts have resulted in 64,487 job cuts.
Bankruptcies have caused 35,641 layoffs. Technological changes — including automation and artificial intelligence — have accounted for 20,000 job losses this year.
