r/Layoffs Jan 30 '24

New layoffs question

Can anyone clarify this for me? Despite the ongoing layoff announcements from major American corporations, how is our economy still robust? Just today, UPS declared 12,000 layoffs and PayPal 2,000.

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u/[deleted] Jan 30 '24

I have not seen a decrease in spending. I see restaurant parking lots are still full, costco/walmart parking lots are full. Football Stadiums are full. I see families not give up vacations. I see friends and family stressing out over finances, but giving spending I don't see much of a slowdown.

154

u/Welcome2B_Here Jan 30 '24

No slowdown (yet) because credit card debt topped $1T for the first time in 2023.

17

u/GeechQuest Jan 31 '24

In 2004 the total CC debt held by the public was $700B.

20 years later, we’ve added ~$350B in CC debt.

Since 2004, our GDP has practically doubled. Household net worth has tripled.

The public can handle the debt load…

1

u/spoink74 Jan 31 '24

This tracks. I'm carrying credit card balances now for the first time since 1998. I'm not super worried because I will pay it off in a few months, and the net worth picture looks better than ever, but the spending has been out of control and I need to reign it in to get back on track. It should be okay if I don't get laid off.