by Michael Snyder, The Economic Collapse Blog:
Have you ever not been able to sleep at night because you are stressed out about your finances? If so, you are certainly not alone. When there is simply not enough money coming in to pay all the bills, the pressure can be excruciating. The cost of food, housing and other essentials has been rising much faster than paychecks have in recent years, and now a huge wave of mass layoffs has begun. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, employers in the United States announced 172,017 job cuts last month. That was the highest level that we have seen for the month of February since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009…
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U.S.-based employers announced 172,017 job cuts in February, the highest total for the month since 2009 when 186,350 job cuts were recorded. It is the highest monthly total since July 2020 when 262,649 cuts were announced, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
February’s total is a 245% increase from the 49,795 cuts announced one month prior. It is a 103% increase from the 84,638 cuts announced in the same month last year.
Look, if the number of job cuts goes up by 245 percent in just one month, your economy is going in the wrong direction.
You don’t exactly have to be a genius to figure that one out.
Overall, employers in the United States announced 221,812 job cuts during the first two months of this year. That is 33 percent higher than the total for the first two months of 2024…
So far this year, employers have announced 221,812 job cuts, the highest year-to-date (YTD) total since 2009 when 428,099 job cuts were planned. It is up 33% from the 166,945 cuts announced during the same period in 2024.
I keep trying to warn my readers that this is just the beginning.
During this new economic downturn, it is likely that millions of people will eventually lose their jobs.
What will our society look like if that actually happens?
Meanwhile, home sales continue to be depressingly low.
According to economists at Wells Fargo, total home sales in January were “only modestly above the weak rate experienced between 2008 and 2010”…
In January, total home sales reached 4.7 million, a figure Wells Fargo economists say is ‘only modestly above the weak rate experienced between 2008 and 2010.’ Before the pandemic, monthly home sales averaged around 6 million.
Housing demand soared during the pandemic, sending prices and mortgage rates to new highs. But now, high costs and borrowing rates are keeping both buyers and sellers on the sidelines.
Homeowners that secured a low mortgage rate during the pandemic or who have paid off their home aren’t selling since they do not want to give up their low rates.
Once again, here is another example where we are seeing numbers that are unlike anything we have seen since the Great Recession.
When will the reality of what we are facing start sinking in for people?
Right now, major retailers are shutting down stores all over the nation.
They wouldn’t be doing this if they thought that good times were ahead of us.
For instance, Kohl’s is telling us that they will be permanently closing 27 “underperforming” stores this weekend…
Kohl’s will shut 27 ‘underperforming’ US stores this weekend, but not before slashing final sale prices.
The department store chain will wind down operations at the locations in 15 states on Saturday.
Initially the store’s were expected to close by the end of April but the deep discounts have stripped stock down leading the locations to close sooner.
And Macy’s has just identified 66 out of the 150 stores that it eventually plans to shut down…
Macy’s in January named 66 of the 150 stores it is planning to close as part of its revitalization plan, and some stores on the list appear to have already closed or be closing soon.
The retailer announced in February 2024 plans to shut down 150 “underproductive” Macy’s store locations by 2026. The plan “is designed to return the company to sustainable, profitable sales growth,’ Macy’s said in a press release in January 2025.
All over the nation, there are now abandoned buildings where once thriving businesses used to operate.
Boarded up storefronts litter the landscape all over America, and this is particularly true in many of our heavily populated urban areas.
Of course it isn’t just large businesses that are failing.
According to Gregory Mannarino, small business startups are failing at a staggering rate…
According to the latest data, a staggering 90 percent of U.S. small business startups fail, this is the highest level in history.
It is incredibly difficult to get a successful small business off the ground in the United States today.
If you have ever tried, you know what I am talking about.
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