With the end of the great resignation and the pandemic-era hiring binge, the job market has seen 200 percent increase in layoffs over the past year. Of these, many are within professional and business services (PBS).
In a new study conducted by TollFreeForwarding.com, research showed that the PBS industry, which includes human resource personnel, terminated over 4.6 million jobs making it the industry with the most firings in 2023 (over two times more than any other industry). The data has been passed on to Digital Journal for review.
Other roles that fall within the PBS category include workers in business infrastructure and support roles, including accountants, architects, advertisers, lawyers, financial managers, and consultants, among others.
Part of the reason for these jobs being vulnerable is the result of the end of the great resignation and pandemic-era hiring practices. A change in practices have led to large companies like Amazon, Google, and Meta laying off tens of thousands of workers in 2023, many of whom were in business support roles, such as advertisers and human resources personnel.
Following PBS, the industries with the most terminations in 2023 were construction (2 million), accommodation and food services (1.9 million), and retail (1.8 million). Industries with the fewest firings include mining and logging (82,000), the federal government (86,000), and real estate (266,000).
The industries with the most and fewest firings are as follows:
Industries With the Most Terminations
| Industry | Terminations in 2023 | Termination Rate |
| Professional & Business Services | 4,662,000 | 1.7 |
| Construction | 2,075,000 | 2.2 |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 1,954,000 | 1.2 |
| Retail Trade | 1,874,000 | 1 |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 1,731,000 | 0.7 |
In contrast, fewer terminations were found with:
Industries With the Fewest Terminations
| Industry | Terminations in 2023 | Termination Rate |
| Mining & Logging | 82,000 | 1.1 |
| Federal Government | 86,000 | 0.2 |
| Real Estate, Rental & Leasing | 266,000 | 0.9 |
| Private Educational Services | 331,000 | 0.7 |
| Finance & Insurance | 333,000 | 0.4 |
The most common reasons for terminating employees included:
- Attitude issues – 57%
- Personality issues – 41%
- Job performance – 40%
- Violation of company policies – 31%
- Requested a raise – 23%
The above relates to the U.S. where hire and fire is far easier to undertake compared with European nations, which have tighter labour laws.
