The headlines in the news that seem detached have a different impact when colleagues you have known, worked with and respected for their contributions in the workplace personally reach out to let you know their jobs have been eliminated and are asking for help networking and finding new jobs. Over the past week, I have had more people reaching out because they have been cut than I can ever remember including the early days of the pandemic.
By now, we have absorbed the data:
- 103,000 jobs were cut in January 2023
- Twice the amount cut in December 2022
- 440% more than in January 2022
- 41% of the cuts are coming from the high-tech sector
- Retail and Financial Services were the next largest sectors impacted
Literally, at the very same time these cuts were being announced and reported, there was an unexpected job hiring report that included:
- 517,000 new (non-farm) jobs being added to payrolls in January 2023
- The previously expected increase in payrolls for January 2023 was supposed to be 187,000 jobs
- Unemployment is at the lowest rate, 3.4%, since 1969 and you must factor into the appreciation of that number there were 30 million fewer people in the workforce in 1969
