U.S. retail unemployment has skyrocketed dramatically this year, up 249% compared to the same period in 2024, according to a new report from challenger Gray & Christmas, global outplacement company challenger.
By the end of July, US retailers had announced 80,487 job cuts. The report identifies inflation, tariffs, and broader economic uncertainty as key factors that encourage the closure of these layoffs and preservation. Continuous weakening of consumer spending could lead to additional reductions in retail talent.
This trend is part of a larger wave of layoffs affecting multiple industries. So far, in 2025, employers across the US announced 806,383 job cuts, the highest total since 2020, and eliminated more than 1.8 million jobs in the early months of the pandemic.
The Challenger also noted that closures of plants, units and stores accounted for 120,226 of employment losses this year. Corporate restructuring led to a cut of 66,879, but bankruptcy added 35,641 job losses.
Advances in technology are playing an increasingly important role in reducing employment. The report found that 20,219 job cuts this year are linked to automation and other high-tech upgrades. Of these, 10,375 are particularly attributed to artificial intelligence, indicating that AI-driven disruption is accelerating across the workforce.
