Recession incoming: Over 100,000 layoffs announced in 2024
An economic recession could finally be brewing worldwide, as suggested by over 100,000 layoffs in 2024. January’s year-over-year (YoY) inflation rate exceeded expectations at 3.1%, as reported on February 13, worsening the scenario. Interestingly, the data on layoffs diverges from a seemingly strong labor market, according to data from the United States government. Meanwhile, the YoY Consumer Price Index (CPI) leaves investors skeptical about a possible improvement in the near future. On February 2, the Nonfarm Payroll came nearly two times higher than expected. The finance market saw 353,000 new reported jobs in January, against the forecasted 187,000. But companies’ layoff data suggests something is wrong. Notably, January 2024 had a record number of workforce reductions for a 15-year high of 82,000 layoffs. As reported by The Kobeissi Letter , January this year was the second worst in history since January 2009. It is worth mentioning that, back then, the world was going throug