How many people are laid off in the US each month in 2026?

About 1.7 million workers were laid off or discharged in April 2026, a rate of 1.1% of total employment, per the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Total separations, which include quits and retirements, ran about 5.0 million. The layoff rate has stayed near 1.1–1.2% through early 2026, historically moderate but concentrated in specific sectors and large-employer restructurings.

How long does it take to find a job after a layoff?

The average duration of unemployment was about 22.9 weeks (roughly 5–6 months) in mid-2025 BLS reporting, and median duration is shorter. Averages are pulled up by long spells. In the most recent BLS Displaced Workers Survey (January 2024), 65.7% of long-tenured displaced workers had been reemployed. A realistic planning baseline for a mid-career professional is a multi-month search, not weeks.

Do most people take a pay cut after a layoff?

A substantial minority do. Among long-tenured workers displaced from full-time jobs and reemployed in full-time jobs (BLS, January 2024 survey), 62% earned as much as or more than their lost job, meaning about 38% landed at lower pay. Earnings outcomes vary widely by industry and by how long the search runs; longer unemployment correlates with larger pay cuts.

What share of laid-off workers actually use COBRA?

Very few. Roughly 66% of workers would be eligible for COBRA continuation if laid off, but historically only around 9% of laid-off workers take it up. Cost is the overwhelming reason, since COBRA charges up to 102% of the full group premium (about $9,325/year for single and $26,993/year for family coverage at 2025 averages). The 2026 expiration of the enhanced ACA subsidies changed the COBRA-vs-marketplace calculation in many cases.

What is the average severance package in 2026?

The most recent cross-industry benchmark (Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2025, 8,000+ packages) put the average at 19.3 weeks of pay, up from 15.6 weeks the prior year. The common working norm behind most employer plans is roughly two weeks of pay per year of service, adjusted up in big tech and parts of finance and down in retail and hourly roles.

How many people cash out their 401(k) after leaving a job?

About one-third of participants cash out their 401(k) when they leave a job, per Vanguard's How America Saves 2025: 42% of hourly workers versus 21% of salaried workers. The Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates premature cash-outs cost workers roughly $2 trillion in retirement savings over a 40-year horizon. Cashing out at separation triggers ordinary income tax plus, under age 59½, a 10% penalty.

Layoff Recovery Statistics 2026: The Numbers Behind the First Year

The short version

About 1.7 million US workers are laid off in a typical month of 2026. The average unemployment spell runs roughly 23 weeks, about 38% of reemployed long-tenured workers land at lower pay, only ~9% of laid-off workers take up COBRA, the average severance package is 19.3 weeks, and about a third of people cash out their 401(k) at separation. The figures and sources are below.

Most "layoff statistics" pages count the layoffs. This one tracks the recovery, what happens after: how long it takes, what reemployment pays, and the financial decisions (health coverage, severance, retirement accounts) that shape the first year. Every figure carries its date and a primary source. We refresh it on each monthly BLS JOLTS release; if you're citing a number, use the dated value here.

The scale: how many layoffs, and how often

Metric	Latest figure	Source (date)
Layoffs & discharges (monthly)	~1.7 million (1.1% rate)	BLS JOLTS, April 2026
Total separations (monthly)	~5.0 million (3.1% rate)	BLS JOLTS, April 2026
Quits (monthly, for contrast)	~3.0 million (1.9% rate)	BLS JOLTS, April 2026
Average 2025 severance package	19.3 weeks (up from 15.6)	Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2025

The headline rate (~1.1%) is historically moderate, but it understates the experience: layoffs cluster in specific sectors and in large-employer restructurings, so a "moderate" national month can be a severe one inside tech, finance, or retail. The 2024–2026 cycles also pushed severance up: the 15.6→19.3-week jump reflects bigger group layoffs and the litigation hygiene of clean releases.

The recovery: how long it takes, and what it pays

Metric	Latest figure	Source (date)
Average unemployment duration	~22.9 weeks (~5–6 months)	BLS, mid-2025
Long-tenured displaced workers reemployed	65.7%	BLS Displaced Workers Survey, Jan 2024
Reemployed at equal-or-higher pay	62%	BLS Displaced Workers Survey, Jan 2024
Reemployed at lower pay	~38%	BLS Displaced Workers Survey, Jan 2024

The single most useful planning number here is the ~23-week average duration: a 19.3-week severance package against a 23-week search is the real arithmetic a household plans around, and it's why the 90-day money plan treats severance as runway extension rather than a finish line. The pay outcome is genuinely two-sided (most reemployed workers match or beat their old pay), but the ~38% who don't is why a longer, more selective search often pays for itself.

Health coverage: the COBRA gap and the 2026 subsidy change

Metric	Latest figure	Source (date)
Workers eligible for COBRA if laid off	~66%	Commonwealth Fund
Laid-off workers who actually take up COBRA	~9%	Commonwealth Fund
Full group premium (COBRA is 102% of this)	$9,325 single / $26,993 family per year	KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey, 2025
ACA enhanced premium tax credits	Expired Jan 1, 2026	Congressional Research Service, R48290
Effect on marketplace premium payments	+~114% on average	KFF, 2025–26

The 9% COBRA take-up is the most striking recovery statistic in the set: most laid-off workers can't afford to keep the plan they had. That gap got harder in 2026, when the enhanced ACA subsidies expired and the 400%-of-poverty subsidy cliff returned, which is why the COBRA-vs-ACA decision now turns on how much severance you were paid and in which calendar year.

Retirement accounts: the cash-out leak

Metric	Latest figure	Source (date)
Participants who cash out 401(k) at job change	~1 in 3	Vanguard, How America Saves 2025
Cash-out rate, hourly vs salaried	42% vs 21%	Vanguard, How America Saves 2025
Estimated lifetime cost of premature cash-outs	~$2 trillion over 40 years	Employee Benefit Research Institute
Involuntary cash-out threshold (small balances)	$7,000 (up from $5,000 in 2024)	SECURE 2.0 Act

One in three people cashing out a 401(k) at separation is the quiet long-term cost of a layoff: taxed as ordinary income, often stacked on top of severance, plus a 10% penalty under age 59½. The four 401(k) options after a layoff exist precisely to keep people out of that statistic.

How to read these numbers

Three caveats worth holding. First, averages hide variance: a 23-week average duration includes both four-week and two-year searches, and your sector matters more than the national figure. Second, the recovery is genuinely two-sided: most reemployed workers match or beat their old pay, and most layoff depression lifts within a few months. The numbers are therefore a planning tool, not a forecast of your outcome. Third, 2026 is an unusual year: the ACA subsidy expiration moved the health-coverage math in a way that pre-2026 advice gets wrong.

For the operational version of all of this (what to do, in what order, in the first 90 days), see the 90-day money plan, the company-by-company recovery guides, and the financial survival coverage.

Wondering how your own severance compares to these benchmarks?

Check my offer

SeveranceCalc shares a publisher with PostLayoffPlan.

Frequently asked questions

How many people are laid off in the US each month in 2026?: About 1.7 million workers were laid off or discharged in April 2026, a rate of 1.1% of total employment, per the BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS). Total separations, which include quits and retirements, ran about 5.0 million. The layoff rate has stayed near 1.1–1.2% through early 2026, historically moderate but concentrated in specific sectors and large-employer restructurings.
How long does it take to find a job after a layoff?: The average duration of unemployment was about 22.9 weeks (roughly 5–6 months) in mid-2025 BLS reporting, and median duration is shorter. Averages are pulled up by long spells. In the most recent BLS Displaced Workers Survey (January 2024), 65.7% of long-tenured displaced workers had been reemployed. A realistic planning baseline for a mid-career professional is a multi-month search, not weeks.
Do most people take a pay cut after a layoff?: A substantial minority do. Among long-tenured workers displaced from full-time jobs and reemployed in full-time jobs (BLS, January 2024 survey), 62% earned as much as or more than their lost job, meaning about 38% landed at lower pay. Earnings outcomes vary widely by industry and by how long the search runs; longer unemployment correlates with larger pay cuts.
What share of laid-off workers actually use COBRA?: Very few. Roughly 66% of workers would be eligible for COBRA continuation if laid off, but historically only around 9% of laid-off workers take it up. Cost is the overwhelming reason, since COBRA charges up to 102% of the full group premium (about $9,325/year for single and $26,993/year for family coverage at 2025 averages). The 2026 expiration of the enhanced ACA subsidies changed the COBRA-vs-marketplace calculation in many cases.
What is the average severance package in 2026?: The most recent cross-industry benchmark (Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 2025, 8,000+ packages) put the average at 19.3 weeks of pay, up from 15.6 weeks the prior year. The common working norm behind most employer plans is roughly two weeks of pay per year of service, adjusted up in big tech and parts of finance and down in retail and hourly roles.
How many people cash out their 401(k) after leaving a job?: About one-third of participants cash out their 401(k) when they leave a job, per Vanguard's How America Saves 2025: 42% of hourly workers versus 21% of salaried workers. The Employee Benefit Research Institute estimates premature cash-outs cost workers roughly $2 trillion in retirement savings over a 40-year horizon. Cashing out at separation triggers ordinary income tax plus, under age 59½, a 10% penalty.

Primary sources

Citing these figures? Please link to this page or the underlying primary source, and use the dated value (numbers change with each release).