© Elizabeth Frantz/ReutersDemocrats and Republicans in June reached an agreement to avoid a debt default by raising the $31.4 trillion borrowing limit after months of political wrangling
The report said that in February, job cut announcements reached 84,638, the highest since last March and compared with 82,307 in January.
It was also the highest total for February since 2009.
The technology sector saw some of the most significant job cuts in February, along with transportation and services.
The tech sector, which leads all industries in job cuts so far this year, has seen cuts down by 55 percent year to date compared with the same period in 2023. In contrast, the finance sector has seen cuts up 56 percent compared with last year.
Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said that companies could be understating cuts associated with artificial intelligence (AI) under other labels.
"In light of the backlash some companies have faced for directly attributing job cuts to artificial intelligence, they appear to be framing this shift as a 'technological update' rather than an outright substitution of human roles with AI," Challenger said.
"In truth, companies are also implementing robotics and automation in addition to AI. It is worth noting that last year alone, AI was directly cited in 4,247 job reductions, suggesting a growing impact on companies' workforces," he added.
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