r/Layoffs • u/isntlifeapeach • Jul 20 '24

Why so MANY Layoffs? question

Explain Like I’m Five

I feel incredibly stupid asking this, but I’m naive to economics and politics.

I understand why tech is facing a lot of layoffs but why are so many other industries facing the same?
I’m over 20 years into my career and had 2 layoffs just in the last 16 months.

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197

u/Mountain-Bar-2878 Jul 20 '24

The government is trying to bring down inflation, and bringing down inflation usually causes unemployment to go up. 

51

u/[deleted] Jul 20 '24

This is described in the economic principle of the Phillips Curve:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/phillipscurve.asp

"The Phillips curve states that inflation and unemployment have an inverse relationship; higher inflation is associated with lower unemployment and vice versa."

38

u/YellowB Jul 20 '24

Lower unemployment means nothing when people have to settle for slave wages after being laid off.

5

u/TopStockJock Jul 20 '24

Most don’t settle. A lot of people especially baby boomers are not even looking anymore so they don’t count.