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Layoffs Hit a Three-Year Low for October as Seasonal Hiring Jumps (Nov. 8, 2026)

· Aggressive Hiring Group

Employers are holding on to their people and staffing up for the holidays with short-term help. U.S. companies announced 43,994 job cuts in October, the fewest for the month since 2023, while announced hiring plans hit 444,692, the highest October total since at least 2009, according to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas October job cuts report released Thursday. Here's what that means as of Sunday, November 8, 2026, if you're hiring in Monroe, southeast Michigan, northwest Ohio or anywhere else.

The key numbers

  • October job cuts: 43,994, up 2% from September but down 71% from October 2025, and below the 56,348 October average from 2015 to 2025.
  • Year to date: 617,189 announced cuts through October, down 44% from last year and the lowest total for that stretch since 2022.
  • Hiring plans: 444,692 in October, up 57% from a year earlier. Year-to-date plans are 655,304, up 34%.
  • Seasonal hiring: 470,400 seasonal plans through October, up 26% from last year. Amazon announced 300,000 seasonal hires, the largest single seasonal announcement Challenger has tracked, and UPS announced 100,000.
  • Warehousing: cuts in the sector are down 77% this year, to 20,551.

Closer to home

The Midwest picture is more mixed. Michigan had 2,937 announced cuts in October, and its year-to-date total of 36,564 is up 89% from last year, the biggest increase among states with at least 10,000 cuts. Ohio announced 4,592 cuts in October, up from 860 a year earlier. Across the country, food companies led October with 9,677 cuts, and transportation cuts are up 188% for the year. Economic conditions overtook artificial intelligence as the top reason employers gave for cuts in 2026.

What it means for employers

Andy Challenger summed it up as "a low-fire environment," with companies wanting "the flexibility to meet holiday demand without adding permanent headcount." That lines up with Friday's government jobs report, which showed 165,000 new jobs in October and unemployment at 4.1%. Layoffs are rare, so fewer experienced workers are hitting the market, and big names like Amazon and UPS are hiring hundreds of thousands of seasonal workers from the same pool you are.

The flip side is that the Michigan and Ohio cuts put some skilled production, food and logistics workers back on the market. Employers who move quickly can pick up proven people before year-end. Temporary and temp-to-hire staffing gives you the same flexibility the big companies want: help for the busy weeks, with an easy path to keep the best workers.

What's next

The October consumer price index comes out Tuesday, Nov. 10. Wednesday is Veterans Day, and the next weekly jobless claims report lands Thursday, Nov. 12.

Need warehouse, logistics, industrial or office help for the holiday rush and into the new year? Aggressive Hiring Group has pre-screened candidates ready to go, in Monroe, MI and nationwide. Call us today at 734.785.8968 or request staff online.

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