Rachel Sederberg, senior economist at workforce data firm Lightcast, said the recent wave of layoffs in the big tech world are partially a course correction after many companies overextended themselves during the pandemic.
Overall, there were about 10.45 million job openings at the end of November, according to preliminary numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By contrast, there were 5.7 million unemployed Americans, according to the latest data from BLS. Meanwhile, the quit rate remains at 2.7% — down from recent highs but still well above pre-Covid levels.
“As far as I can tell, the story here is that tech was on a hiring spree during the pandemic and now they’re scaling back due to less demand,” Ryan said. “Another factor may be this: businesses often use a 'slow economy' as a reason to eliminate nonessential or excess employees.” While Reynolds said December's job report confirmed the job market remains relatively tight, he said slowing gains in nonfarm payrolls suggest a loss of momentum.