Story perspectives

US Hiring Slows, Youth Unemployment Peaks Amid Tech Layoffs

5/26/2026

Summary

Story summary

U.S. hiring slowed sharply despite GDP growth, with a 3.5 percent monthly hiring rate and 4.2 percent unemployment.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported youth unemployment at 5.6 percent in late 2025, with half underemployed, the highest since 2020.
Amazon’s January cut of 16,000 corporate jobs and Meta’s April elimination of about 8,000 positions coincided with health-care adding almost 800,000 of the net 369,000 jobs created since early 2025.

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Story summary

U.S. hiring slowed sharply despite GDP growth, with a 3.5 percent monthly hiring rate and 4.2 percent unemployment.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported youth unemployment at 5.6 percent in late 2025, with half underemployed, the highest since 2020.
Amazon’s January cut of 16,000 corporate jobs and Meta’s April elimination of about 8,000 positions coincided with health-care adding almost 800,000 of the net 369,000 jobs created since early 2025.