Layoffs Slowed From April To March — Though Up 63% Year-Over-Year

April saw 105,441 layoffs from U.S.-based employers, marking a significant decrease from layoffs in March, but a year-over-year increase of more than 60% as the government continued to slash its workforce, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The report found the government has had the most cuts of any sector this year—though government cuts slowed notably last month—and the Department of Government Efficiency is responsible for nearly half of all layoffs to date.

• Although reported layoffs fell 62% from March to April, cuts last month were up 63% from about 65,000 reported in April 2024, and were the highest total for the month since 2020.
• So far, there have been 602,493 layoffs in 2025, an 87% increase from the same period last year, marking the highest year-to-date total since 2020, when more than 1 million job cuts were reported, according to the report.
• Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a career services firm, also reported that 48% of layoffs this year have been tied to DOGE actions, either directly or because of “downstream impact.”

In April, the deepest cuts came from the technology sector, where about 27,000 job cuts were announced last month. Technology was followed by healthcare (7,654 in April), retail (7,235), government (2,782) and non-profits (2,496), according to the report released Thursday.

Fewer than 3,000 government cuts is a notable change from the last two months, in which DOGE worked to slash the federal government’s workforce quickly: March had 216,215 government cuts and February had 62,242.

The most common reason companies gave Challenger for layoffs this year has been “DOGE actions,” which accounted for 283,172. Nearly another 7,000 were as a result of “DOGE downstream impact,” which Challenger said largely impacted non-profits and education organizations. Combined, those reasons account for 48% of the total cuts announced this year.

What Sectors Have Been Hit Hardest By Layoffs This Year?

The government still leads all sectors in job cuts through the first four months of the year, with government cuts up 680% compared to the first four months of 2024.

There are also big year-over-year increases in retail (cuts are up 296% through the first four months), non-profits (up 229%) and technology (up 35%). Healthcare layoffs are only slightly up, increasing 13% over the same period last year.

Media and news is one of few industries tracked by Challenger that has reported fewer layoffs this year compared to last year. The industry has shed 3,605 jobs this year compared to more than 8,000 through the first four months last year. Job cuts are also down in aerospace and defense, automotive, construction, financial, food and transportation.

What Was DOGE Charged With Doing, And What Has It Done?

President Donald Trump created DOGE on his first day back in office in January, and his key adviser billionaire Elon Musk has been the agency’s de facto leader since then. In the executive order creating the agency, Trump said its goal was to “modernize federal technology and software to maximize efficiency and productivity.” Musk—who the White House said was overseeing DOGE but was not the official administrator—quickly got to work significantly reducing the workforce and working to cut government spending.

In addition to the thousands of layoffs DOGE has initiated, more than 112,000 federal workers took a deferred resignation, Politico reported, and the agency has all-but shuttered at least 11 federal agencies.

The agency’s efforts to reduce the government’s footprint has drawn criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle, along with legal challenges over its access to sensitive information. Musk has admitted the agency has made errors in its mass layoff efforts, and in March he said, “We are moving fast, so we will make mistakes, but we’ll also fix the mistakes very quickly.” At least 26,000 people fired because of DOGE were likely to return to their roles at the start of this month, according to Forbes’ estimates.

How Much Money Is DOGE Saving The Government?

The DOGE website alleges the agency has saved an estimated $160 billion as of April 20, the last time the site was updated—breaking down to $993.79 per taxpayer—through various means, including workforce reduction.

Musk had previously set a high goal for DOGE, saying in March he expected DOGE to reach $1 trillion in savings by the time his role as a special government employee was up, likely at the end of May. Before DOGE was officially created, Musk had said he wanted the agency to find $2 trillion in savings, though he later clarified that was a “best-case outcome,” NBC News reported.

What’s DOGE’s Future After Elon Musk Leaves?

Because he’s working for the government as a special government employee, Musk is only able to work 130 days in a 365-day period. On April 22, while speaking in a Tesla earnings call, Musk confirmed his time at DOGE “will drop significantly” starting in May and he would be spending more time with Tesla. The electric vehicle company headed by Musk reported its worst quarterly profit in years earlier this month, and analysts predicted if Musk opted to stay with the White House and continue working for Trump “it could change the future of Tesla” as “brand damage will grow.” Musk said earlier this month he believes DOGE will continue on without him, though, estimating it will find $150 billion in savings from “reduction of waste and fraud” in fiscal year 2026.

Further Reading

Job Cuts Soared 60% In March To Highest Since Spring 2020—Almost All Because Of DOGE (Forbes)

Elon Musk Says DOGE Will Produce Savings Of $150 Billion In FY2026 (Forbes)

White House Says Elon Musk Trusted To Claim His Own Conflicts Of Interest As ‘Special Government Employee’—Here’s What That Means (Forbes)