"Andy Challenger is the person businesses call when it's time to let workers go. And for the past year and a half, his phone hasn't stopped ringing. A third-generation outplacement consultant at Challenger, Gray & Christmas the firm his grandfather founded in the 1960s after his own layoff Challenger has heard a variety of reasons over the past few months for trimming headcount."
"As economic data continued to suggest a shockingly resilient labor market, his workload told a different story. Anyone who has watched a friend lose work, seen a Now Hiring sign quietly come down, scrolled through LinkedIn profiles marked #OpenToWork or worried about how far your own paycheck will stretch, knows what Challenger is talking about. Economic reports can tell one story; your reality often tells another."
"More than 2 in 5 workers (43 percent) didn't receive a pay increase at all over the past 12 months, the highest in four years and a sign of a slowing job market, according to Bankrate's new Pay Raise Survey. A rising share of Americans in the labor force (42 percent in 2025 from 36 percent in 2024) also say they aren't confident they'll find a better-paying job or get a pay raise at their current position over the next 12 months."
Andy Challenger has experienced a surge in outplacement work over the past year and a half as employers trim headcount. Firms cite pandemic-era overhiring, AI integration uncertainty, higher tariffs and a slowing economy as reasons for cuts. Official economic data showed resilient hiring and low unemployment, but many workers encountered a different reality at home. Forty-three percent of workers received no pay increase in the past 12 months, the highest in four years. Rising shares of workers report low confidence in finding better-paying jobs or receiving raises over the next 12 months.
Read at www.bankrate.com
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