Copyright The Street
The U.S. economy has been showing mixed signs as of late. The U.S. GDP has recovered, posting two consecutive quarters of nearly 4% growth after contracting by 0.5% in the first quarter. Largest employers in the U.S. Walmart: 1.6 million employees Amazon: 1.5 million employees Allied Universal: 800,000 employees Department of Defense: 770,000 civilian employees Accenture: 700,000 employees A surge of imports ahead of the implementation of U.S. tariffs caused the contraction earlier in the year, but those imports fell in the second quarter, making growth appear stronger, according to The Economist. However, while consumption has risen, the job market in America has been slowly weakening. In August, the U.S. added just 22,000 jobs, falling short of economists’ expectations of 75,000 jobs added, as job gains in health care were partially offset by losses in the federal government and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. Tech layoffs have been garnering significant attention, as Amazon, the country’s second-largest employer with 1.6 million employees, recently revealed it will cut 14,000 corporate workers. Last month, Accenture confirmed 11,000 layoffs, and in July, Intel said it would cut 21,400 workers. Employment anxiety has translated into consumer anxiety, as the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index slipped to its lowest level in six months, with the largest declines occurring among consumers under 35 years old and those over 55 years old. Consumers are also changing their spending habits as a result, according to the latest data from Bank of America. U.S. credit card holders spending less on entertainment, more on transit U.S. consumers with credit cards are changing their spending habits, according to the latest data from Bank of America Global Research. Total credit card spending was up 0.8% year over year in the week ending October 25, but a number of industries saw significant declines. Entertainment spending was the biggest loser, with spending down nearly 20% year over year on October 25, but it wasn’t the only industry seeing a decline. U.S. credit card spending industry declines (week of Oct. 25) Entertainment: -19.4% Home Improvement: -5.4% Gas: -3.7% Airlines: -3.1% U.S. credit card spending industry increases (week of Oct. 25) Transit: +8.7% Electronics: +5.2% Online Retail: +5.6% General Merchandise: +4.6% “Lower-income households showed some spending recovery, but growth remains muted compared to middle- and higher-income groups, likely due to softer wage gains in this cohort,” BofA analysts said. “Middle- and higher-income households have stronger wage growth but higher-income spending is likely also benefiting from wealth effects. The discretionary spending of the top 5% of households by income tends to widen compared to the middle income cohort when the S&P 500 is rising.” Weakening U.S. labor market weighs on overall economy The U.S. labor market is in a state of flux. The number of job cuts in the public sector has been much higher than typical in 2025. Still, even private-sector industries not concerned with reducing the federal workforce are seeing major declines. About 1.6 million U.S. workers are being laid off each month this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. U.S. layoff stats 2025: 1.6 million workers laid off each month On pace for 19.2 million annually 206,101 employees laid off from 221 tech companies Job cuts up 5.9% year over year 21% of companies expected to lay off employees Through August, 13.8 million Americans were laid off, a 4.6% increase over the previous year.
