SHOULD YOU WORRY ABOUT BEING LAID OFF? IT DEPENDS ON YOUR INDUSTRY

Downsizing has hit certain sectors. But cutbacks may be slowing, and some companies are expanding.

- SANDRA BLOCK

THE U.S. unemployment rate remains at historic lows, but that’s little consolation for workers who have been laid off in recent weeks. The cutbacks have been particularly brutal in the technology sector, affecting some of the nation’s most well-known—and historically profitable—companies, including Meta, Google and Amazon.com. The layoffs have also hit media companies and financial firms, forcing many professionals to add “open to work” to their LinkedIn profiles.

But as traumatic as layoffs have been for the affected workers, they’re not being seen in other parts of the job market, says Nick Bunker, director of North American economic research for Indeed Hiring Lab, a division of job search website Indeed. Demand for employees in the majority of industry sectors remains above pre-pandemic levels, particularly in health care, wellness, beauty and child care. “There are layoffs happening, but it’s such a small sliver of the population, and they’re happening for reasons that aren’t applicable to the rest of the U.S.,” Bunker says.