---
title: "Challenger Job Cut Announcements"
slug: pink-slips
summary: "Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 43,300 announced job cuts in September 2026, fewer than the 54,100 a year earlier."
category: "Jobs"
unit: thousands
frequency: monthly
direction: higher_is_worse
latest_value: 43.3
latest_period: "2026-09"
trend: unknown
trend_suppressed: "sparse_count_series"
last_updated: "2026-10-01T12:45:34Z"
source: "Challenger, Gray & Christmas"
source_url: https://www.challengergray.com/blog/category/job-cuts-report/
canonical_html: https://americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/
citation_apa: "Kilburn, R. (2026). Challenger Job Cut Announcements [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/"
citation_chicago: "Kilburn, Ross. 2026. \"Challenger Job Cut Announcements.\" American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/."
citation_mla: "Kilburn, Ross. \"Challenger Job Cut Announcements.\" American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/."
---

# Challenger Job Cut Announcements

Also tracked as Pink Slips.

> Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 43,300 announced job cuts in September 2026, fewer than the 54,100 a year earlier.

## Current Reading

As of September 2026, Challenger Job Cut Announcements is **43,300**.

## What Changed

- Employers announced 43,300 job cuts in September 2026, per Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Down 10,800 from September 2025.
- Announced cuts, not people laid off; not seasonally adjusted.

## Recent Values

| Period | Value |
|--------|-------|
| 2026-09 | 43.3K |
| 2026-08 | 52.9K |
| 2026-07 | 33.4K |
| 2026-06 | 45.8K |
| 2026-05 | 97K |
| 2026-04 | 83.4K |
| 2026-03 | 60.6K |
| 2026-02 | 48.3K |
| 2026-01 | 108.4K |
| 2025-12 | 35.6K |
| 2025-11 | 71.3K |
| 2025-10 | 153.1K |

## Historical Context

- Peak since 2024: **275,200** in March 2025
- Low since 2024: **25,900** in July 2024

## Methodology

This indicator carries monthly observations and is interpreted as higher values indicate worse household conditions. Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Automation: collected automatically on the daily refresh pipeline, with no hand entry.

## Source

Challenger, Gray & Christmas — [https://www.challengergray.com/blog/category/job-cuts-report/](https://www.challengergray.com/blog/category/job-cuts-report/)

Data retrieved: 2026-10-01T12:45:34Z

## Related Indicators

- [initial-unemployment-claims-sa](https://americandefault.org/indicators/initial-unemployment-claims-sa/)
- [the-ai-cut](https://americandefault.org/indicators/the-ai-cut/)

## Machine-Readable Endpoints

- HTML page: https://americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/
- JSON: https://americandefault.org/api/indicators/pink-slips.json
- CSV: https://americandefault.org/api/downloads/pink-slips.csv
- BibTeX: https://americandefault.org/citations/pink-slips.bib
- RIS: https://americandefault.org/citations/pink-slips.ris

## Citation

**APA 7th**

    Kilburn, R. (2026). Challenger Job Cut Announcements [Data set]. American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/

**Chicago (author-date)**

    Kilburn, Ross. 2026. "Challenger Job Cut Announcements." American Default Research. https://americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/.

**MLA 9th**

    Kilburn, Ross. "Challenger Job Cut Announcements." American Default Research, 2026, americandefault.org/indicators/pink-slips/.

Use **American Default Research** as the institutional name in source lists, bibliographies, and press citations. **American Default** is the brand and URL form. **American Distress Index (ADI)** is the product name for the national composite score.