A fifth of business insiders expect workforce shrinkage at their firms as ... trends now
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A survey of economists has found that more businesses expect staffing reductions at their companies in the coming months, following a blitz of recent layoffs in the technology sector.
A National Association for Business Economics (NABE) study found about a third of respondents said their firms were fully staffed, while 19 percent saw their workforce shrinking in the next three months.
That's a more downbeat forecast than when they were asked in October — only 14 percent said they expected employment to fall. Last July, just 4 percent saw a contraction coming.
This week's survey comes after the layoffs of tens of thousands of workers at Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft and other tech firms that expanded during the pandemic but are now bracing for an economic slowdown.
Nearly a fifth of respondents said this month that their firm's workforce would likely shrink in the next three months — a rise on previous surveys
Julia Coronado, president of NABE, said the survey of some 60 members earlier this month showcased 'widespread concern about entering a recession this year'.
'For the first time since 2020, more respondents expect falling rather than increased employment at their firms in the next three months,' said Coronado.
'Fewer respondents than in recent years expect their firms' capital spending
