An Economic Recession Could Be Brewing Worldwide
An economic recession could finally be brewing worldwide, as suggested by over 100,000 layoffs in 2024. January’s year-over-year (YoY) inflation rate exceeded expectations at 3.1%, as reported on February 13, worsening the scenario.
Interestingly, the data on layoffs diverges from a seemingly strong labor market, according to data from the United States government. Meanwhile, the YoY Consumer Price Index (CPI) leaves investors skeptical about a possible improvement in the near future.
On February 2, the Nonfarm Payroll came nearly two times higher than expected. The finance market saw 353,000 new reported jobs in January, against the forecasted 187,000. But companies’ layoff data suggests something is wrong.
Notably, January 2024 had a record number of workforce reductions for a 15-year high of 82,000 layoffs. As reported by The Kobeissi Letter, January this year was the second worst in history since January 2009. It is worth mentioning that, back then, the world was going through The Great Recession.
Massive Workforce Reduction and Layoffs by Large Companies in 2024
So far, the market has seen over 100,000 layoffs announced in 2024, according to The Kobeissi Letter. Twitch has led the past 3 months layoffs with a 35% workforce reduction. Followed by Hasbro and Spotify (NYSE: SPOT), with a 20% and 17% reduction, respectively.
Furthermore, Levi’s, Zerox, Qualtrics, Wayfair, Duolingo, Washington Post, and Snapchat compose the rest of the top 10, with between 10% and 15% team layoffs in 2024.
Some relevant financial institutions like PayPal, Charles Schwab, BlackRock, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank also feature in this list. PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: PYPL) dismissed 9% of its workforce, while BlackRock Inc. (NYSE: BLK) laid off 3% of its workforce.
Strong Signals of an Incoming Economic Recession
Essentially, the high number of layoffs indicates caution and growth stagnation at the very least. This massive workforce reduction by leading companies could be a strong signal of an incoming economic recession.
In particular, it could result from years of record monetary debasement and inflation worldwide. Moreover, the Federal Reserve’s policies in past years may have accelerated this outcome with increased interest rates, tightening companies’ finances, and the overall health of the financial market.
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO, had previously warned about the “dangerous times” we live in. Mike McGlone also sent consistent alerts of an incoming recession, all of which were reported by Finbold in the past. In the meantime, Peter Schiff commented on February 13’s CPI data with its effects on Gold.
Be Cautious and Apply Proper Risk Management
In closing, a recession could affect all markets, including commodities, forex, stocks, and cryptocurrencies. Thus, investors must be cautious and apply proper risk management in their investments and financial applications.
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