US COMPANIES pared back hiring plans in April, with employers announcing the fewest new hires in the first four months of the year since 2016, according to a report released on Thursday (May 2).

Monthly data out by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, showed firms announced plans to hire 9,802 workers last month, the lowest figure for the month of April since 2013. At the same time, job cuts also fell, with employers planning to trim positions by 64,794, a 28 per cent drop from March.

Thursday’s report builds on recent data showing early signs of a cooling-but-resilient US labour market as businesses grapple with higher interest rates, lingering inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty ahead of the US election.

“The labour market remains tight,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice-president of the executive coaching firm behind the report. “But as labour costs continue to rise, companies will be slower to hire, and we expect further cuts will be needed.”

“This low April figure may be the calm before the storm,” he said in a statement.

The automotive sector had the most job cuts in April, with layoffs at Tesla accounting for the vast majority of cuts in that category.

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Firms cited artificial intelligence for the elimination of 800 workers in April, the highest monthly number since May 2023, according to the release. BLOOMBERG