California led the nation in job cuts last year, but the pace slowed in December

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

Buffeted by upheavals in the tech and entertainment industries, California led the nation in job cuts last year — but the pace of layoffs slowed sharply in December both in the state and nationwide as company hiring plans picked up.State employers announced just 2,739 layoffs in December, well down from the 14,288 they said they would cut in November.Still, with the exception of Washington, D.C., California led all states in 2025 with 175,761 job losses, according to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.The slowdown in December losses was experienced nationwide, where U.S.-based employers announced 35,553 job cuts for the month.

That was down 50% from the 71,321 job cuts announced in November and down 8% from the 38,792 job cuts reported the same month last year.That amounted to good news in a year that saw the nation’s economy suffer through 1.2 million layoffs — the most since the economic destruction caused by the pandemic, which led to 2.3 million job losses in 2020, according to the report.Business Thousands of workers have been laid off this year in Hollywood and Silicon Valley as AI shakes up the media and tech industries amid other economic challenges.“The year closed with the fewest announced layoff plans all year.

While December is typically slow, this coupled with higher hiring plans, is a positive sign after a year of high job cutting plans,” Andy Challenger, a workplace expert at the firm, said in a statement.The California economy was lashed all year by tumult in Hollywood, which has been hit by a slowdown in filming as well as media and entertainment industry consolidation.Meanwhile, the advent of artificial intelligence boosted capital spending in Silicon Valley at the expense of jobs, though Challenger said the losses were also the result of “overhiring over the last decade.”Workers were laid off by the thousands at I...