The number of planned layoffs in the United States surged in January, reaching the highest level in 17 years Odaily Planet Daily reported that the monthly layoff rate of challenger companies in the United States in January was 205%, compared to the previous value of -50.15%. Due to a decrease in business contracts and an uncertain economic situation, US employers announced a surge in layoffs in January, reaching the highest level in 17 years for the month. Challenger, Gray& Christmas stated that the number of planned layoffs last month surged 118% year-on-year to 108435, the highest record for January since the global economic recession came to an end in 2009. Normally, the number of layoffs in the first quarter is relatively high, but the total number of layoffs in January this year was also quite high, "said Andy Challenger, the company's Chief Revenue Officer." This means that most of these layoffs were planned by the end of 2025, indicating that employers are not optimistic about the prospects for 2026. "The increase in layoffs this time mainly comes from the transportation industry, with 31243 layoffs related to United Parcel Service. The technology industry announced 22291 layoffs, mostly from Amazon, which announced plans to lay off 16000 corporate employees. In addition, there have been significant planned layoffs in the healthcare industry, partly due to reduced reimbursement amounts for federally funded Medicaid and Medicare insurance plans. (Golden Ten)