Across the country, Donald Trump and Republicans’ disastrous economic agenda is taking a wrecking ball to our job markets and throwing state economies into chaos. A new report found that January 2026 had the largest number of layoffs for the month since the Great Recession in 2009, with 108,435 job cuts. 

The bottom line: While Trump boasts that his administration is doing a “great job” with affordability, the numbers don’t lie: Working Americans are struggling to afford high costs, small businesses are going under, and local industries are falling apart. 

Take a look at some of the coverage below: 

Detroit Free Press: Michigan loses more jobs than all but one other state, report says

[Todd Spangler and Adrienne Roberts, 2/7/26]

“Michigan lost the second most jobs of any state in January 2026, according to an outplacement firm’s report that showed job losses rising to their highest total across the U.S. for any January since 2009, amid the Great Recession. …

“Michigan lost 19,714 jobs in January, second only to Georgia, which saw job losses of 31,415. …

“Last year at this time, Michigan lost 2,923 jobs, according to the firm’s data. …

“Kendall Witmer, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee, said on Feb. 5 following the job loss report that it shows what the ‘Trump economy’ has really done in Michigan.

“‘Donald Trump has completely wrecked the job market, causing over 19,000 layoffs in January in Michigan alone,’ Witmer said. ‘Everyday Michiganders are getting laid off, struggling to find a job and being forced into part-time jobs at a breakneck pace because of Trump’s reckless economic policies… When will enough be enough?’”

The Olympian: Report: WA was third in the US for layoffs in January. What industries were hit?

[Simone Carter, 2/10/26]

“Washington ranked third in the nation for the most job layoffs last month, according to a new analysis from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. … 

“In Washington, 19,526 layoffs were identified this year to date, according to the Challenger Report published Feb. 5. That dwarfs the number of layoffs in the state over the same time frame last year, which logged fewer than 2,670 layoffs. …

“The report comes shortly after Amazon announced that it would shed 16,000 jobs. Here in Washington, the Big Tech giant’s home state, that translated to 2,198 layoffs, plus another 401 because of the company’s choice to shutter all Amazon Fresh and Amazon Go stores. …

“As far as the Democratic National Committee (DNC) sees it, January layoffs detailed in the Challenger report are a result of President Donald Trump’s economic decisions, and working families are struggling to get by while the commander-in-chief refuses to reverse course. 

“‘He is doubling down on his ego-driven tariffs and offering no solutions to make life more affordable for everyday Americans,’ DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer said in a statement. ‘When will enough be enough?’”

Patch: NJ Job Cuts Quintuple As National Layoffs Mirror The Great Recession

[Karen Wall, 2/9/26]

“Layoffs surged in New Jersey in January, rising more than five times the number of job cuts in January 2025 and mirroring a national trend experts say has not been seen since the Great Recession.

“Employers notified New Jersey of 1,980 job cuts announced in January, a 544 percent increase over the 307 cuts in January 2025, according to the state’s WARN notice listings. …

“In January 2009, there were 2,216 layoffs announced in New Jersey as the country struggled with the fallout from the banking and real estate crisis of 2008.”

Oregon Live: Oregon’s unemployed outnumber job openings by 2 to 1

[Mike Rogoway, 2/8/26]

“The number of open jobs in Oregon declined last fall to the lowest number in more than five years, another discouraging signal from the state’s declining labor market.

“Oregon employers had just 46,000 job openings last fall, according to new state figures, the fewest since the pandemic. At the same time, Oregon unemployment has risen to its highest level since the pandemic — 5.2%.

“The result is that Oregon now has 2.4 unemployed people for each vacant job, according to Anna Johnson of the Oregon Employment Department. That’s a far worse ratio than the U.S. as a whole.”