Americans living under President Donald Trump are being laid off at a rate not seen since the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data.
In November alone, 71,321 job losses were announced, taking the total to 1.17 million in 2025.
The data from consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed that terminations have not been announced at such a rate since 2020, and are 54 percent higher than the same 11-month period last year.
It comes despite Trump repeatedly bragging about his success in addressing the cost of living, creating jobs, firing up domestic production, and standing up for working people.
The November number, 71,321, represents a sizable drop from the disastrous October 2025 figure, 153,074, but is markedly up on November 2024, 55,597.
November saw a 24 percent rise on the same month the previous year, enough to take 2025 over the line as the worst year for half a decade. The data includes only announced layoffs, and actual numbers may vary.
CNBC reports that one driver of the swollen numbers this year was Trump’s sprawling, oscillating global tariff campaign. The same outlet reported that, despite aiming to increase headcount in domestic employment, there are signs they may have the opposite effect.
Overall, tariffs are thought to have been the root cause of 8,000 job loss announcements this year to date.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas chief revenue officer Andy Challenger said, “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.”
End-of-year terminations have become unpopular since the financial crash.
“It was the trend to announce layoff plans toward the end of the year, to align with most companies’ fiscal year-ends,” Challenger said. “It became unpopular after the great recession especially, and best practice dictated layoff plans would occur at times other than the holidays.”
The report noted that technology, telecoms, retail, and the service sectors had suffered the most, all cutting between 38,000 and 154,000 jobs in the year to date.
On Sept. 1, Labor Day, the White House issued a statement bragging about its economic success.
“As Americans across the nation mark Labor Day, President Trump stands as the champion of the American Worker.” This, it said, included “surging native-born employment.” It added, “The Trump administration is reversing decades of neglect and finally putting American Workers first.”
It also said, “President Trump has created over half a million new jobs since he took office—all of them coming in the private sector.”
Despite their cheery outlook, Challenger painted a far bleaker picture.
“Through November, U.S. employers have announced 497,151 planned hires, down 35 percent from the 761,954 announced at this point in 2024,” the report reads. “It is the lowest year-to-date total since 2010, when 392,033 new hires were planned through November.”
Trump is planning a public tour to convince people that his economic plan is paying off, Axios reports. He is due to appear in swing state Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where he will try to convince voters as such, amid mounting criticism that he is too focused on foreign policy despite the ‘America First’ platform he ran on in 2024.
There have been some positive economic signs, however. According to Bloomberg, initial applications for unemployment fell to their lowest level in three years, by 27,000 to 191,000, by Nov. 29.
It comes despite a new poll from Politico reporting that 46 percent of adults say the cost of living is the “worst they can ever remember it being.” Some 37 percent of Trump voters agreed.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment.
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