How bad are layoffs really? Today we discuss my invitation for you to stop reading the layoffs headlines since they warp your view of what is really happening.
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The reality is the job market is not great and you could be laid off. I write a lot about layoffs. However, let’s keep the news in perspective.
Current layoffs numbers
If you read any major news service, you will see a dichotomy. If you examine the unemployment rate statistics, you will see a rate of 3.5%, tied for the lowest number in 20+ years. However, if you examine popular press like WSJ, NYT, and Bloomberg, you read about the following layoffs:
- Amazon 18,000
- Google: 12,000
- Goldman Sachs: 3,200
- BNY Mellon: 1,500
- Morgan Stanley: 1,500
Check out my video below to learn more and calm down.
Transcript
Summary: Stop Reading The Layoffs Headlines If You Want A Job In Financial Services
Hi, this is Mike Mittleman, your personal career coach. I help people get top jobs in financial services. Today we discuss my invitation for you to stop reading the layoffs headlines since they warp your view of what is really happening.
The reality is the job market is not great and you could be laid off. However, let’s not overreact at the same time from what we read.
Current layoffs numbers
If you read any major news service, you will see a dichotomy. If you examine the unemployment rate statistics, you will see a rate of 3.5%, tied for the lowest number in 20+ years. However, if you examine popular press like WSJ, NYT, and Bloomberg, you read about the following layoffs:
- Amazon 18,000
- Google: 12,000
- Goldman Sachs: 3,200
- BNY Mellon: 1,500
- Morgan Stanley: 1,500
So, which is it, is the job market good or bad?
With respect to the unemployment rate, it basically is a blue-collar gauge. So, for my listeners and readers, it’s meaningless.
Layoff numbers analyzed
Let’s look at the layoffs for the big companies we mentioned a minute ago.
Goldman has fired about 3,200 employees or about 6% of its workforce. They grew over the past 2 years from about 46,000 to 58,000 professionals or about 25%. So over the past two years, they added 12,000 professionals and fired 3,200. That’s still a net increase of 9,800 jobs.
Let’s take Morgan Stanley who has grown in the past 2 years from 68,000 to 84,000 or an increase of 26,000. They recently laid off 2% or about 1,500 professionals. Pretty amazing given that investment banking revenue was about half of what it was in 2022 vs. 2021.
If you examine Google and Amazon and all the other BigTech, you will see layoffs that are 5-6% of their workforce or lower. If you want the full scoop on technology-related layoffs, check out layoffs.fyi
The headlines are dangerous because newspapers and news platforms need to sell. Bad news sells much better than good news. I invite you to stop reading the headlines or read them with an educated eye and keep calm.
I hope you found this video on layoff headlines helpful. If you’d like to learn more about other career tips, please subscribe to my channel etc.
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