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2025 was defined by reports of a low-hire, low-fire environment: the unemployment rate remained fairly low, at just over 4% in December; yet headlines of constant layoffs seemed to dominate the news cycle, and those who are unemployed are taking longer to find work. Its all been very confusing. And the most recent U.S. jobs report, released today, presents more mixed signals. This weeks report indicated American employers added 130,000 jobs in January, and the Labor Department reported the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. Everything in the report isnt good it also indicated just 181,000 jobs were created last year, which is the lowest number since 2020 but perhaps its not quite as bad as many predicted. So will low-hire, low-fire still be the way we describe a new job market for a new year? What is a low-hire, low-fire economy? A low-hire, low-fire economy is defined by low job hirings coupled with low job firings having slashed 108,435 jobs last month, employers arent making big moves now in either direction. This kind of economic dynamic results in a lower number of available jobs, which means that those 100,000 people who are out of work may struggle to find something sustainable. That, in turn, could mean that unemployment rates will rise in the coming months. High-profile job cuts, such as news of hundreds of layoffs at the Washington Post last week, can also stoke fears of trends in the broader labor market, CNBC noted this week. Other companies that have announced layoffs include Amazon, UPS, and Dow. UPS in particular will cut 30,000 workers, and Amazon announced plans to lay off 16,000 people last month. The two companies account for nearly 40% of all of Januarys layoff announcements. Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January, Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less than optimistic about the outlook for 2026. How we got here American employers announced more than 100,000 jobs were cut in January a jump of 118% in the same month last year and the highest for any January since 2009, global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas announced this month. At the same time, employers announced only 5,306 hiring plans on February 5, the lowest for the month since the company began tracking employment trends in 2009. The same day saw a jump in first-time unemployment claims: Per CNN, there were 231,000 initial jobless claims filed at the beginning of February, a leap of 22,000 additional claims from the week before. The reasons given for the fresh 2026 job losses include contract loss, market and economic conditions, restructuring, and closures. Last years layoffs were attributed to much of the same, though a pivot to AI often gets cited often as well, regardless of how much of a factor the technology really is. Data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics also supports the idea that the job market may get tough sooner than later. Job openings dropped to 6.5 million at the end of December the lowest since September 2020. Some of the cause for that drop is political, CNN also reported, and many employers are concerned about import and export tariffs issued by the Trump administration last year. Some companies are focusing their hiring efforts in the world of AI instead, and the so-called hiring recession may linger. There is a (potential) bright side: reports from Challenger compile layoff intentions so actual job losses may not take place for weeks or even months, if they take place at all. Inside the latest economy report Although job growth can be described as sluggish at best, the American economy is still chugging along. This weeks job creation report far exceeded the 75,000 new jobs that many experts predicted, and average wages rose .04% from December 2025 to January 2026. Some of the uncertainty surrounding job creation is due to the impact of high interest rates, a carryover of uncertainty that surrounds the Trump administrations shifting trade policies. But per this weeks news, Americas output of goods and services logged its fastest pace in two years at 4.4% from July to September 2025, and consumers kept spending money. Theres also speculation from experts that job creation may catch up to economic growth, and the Trump administrations tax cuts could result in increased consumer spending. Perhaps the latest jobs news is an indication that the economy, much like other elements of American life, is in a state of flux that a little stability could resolve. Low-hire, low-fire may still be at play for a few more months. . .but the economy might just have time to catch up.
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E-Commerce
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Offices 10-year outlook projects worsening long-term federal deficits and rising debt, driven largely by increased spending, notably on Social Security, Medicare, and debt service payments. Compared with the CBOs analysis this time last year, the fiscal outlook has deteriorated modestly. Major developments over the last year are factored into the latest report, released Wednesday, including Republicans’ tax and spending measure known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, higher tariffs, and the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, which includes deporting millions of immigrants from mainland U.S. As a result of these changes, the projected 2026 deficit is about $100 billion higher, and total deficits from 2026 to 2035 are $1.4 trillion larger, while debt held by the public is projected to rise from 101% of GDP to 120% exceeding historical highs. Notably, the CBO says higher tariffs partially offset some of those increases by raising federal revenue by $3 trillion, but that also comes with higher inflation from 2026 to 2029. Rising debt and debt service are important because repaying investors for borrowed money crowds out government spending on basic needs such as roads, infrastructure, and education, which enable investments in future economic growth. Congressional Budget Office projections also indicate that inflation doesn’t hit the Federal Reserves 2% target rate until 2030. Jonathan Burks, executive vice president of economic and health policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center said large deficits are unprecedented for a growing, peacetime economy, though the good news is there is still time for policymakers to correct course.” We encourage lawmakers to work together to explore options for raising revenue, trimming spending, and slowing the growth of the major cost drivers, Burks said. “Congress and the administration should seize the opportunity to act now before the available menu of choices becomes much more painful. Lawmakers have recently addressed rising federal debt and deficits primarily through targeted spending caps and debt limit suspensions, as well as deploying extraordinary measures when the U.S. is close to hitting its statutory spending limit, though these measures have often been accompanied by new, large-scale spending or tax policies that maintain high deficit levels. And President Donald Trump at the start of his second term deployed a Department of Government Efficiency, which set a goal to balance the budget by cutting $2 trillion in waste, fraud, and abuse; however, budget analysts estimate that DOGE cut anywhere between $1.4 billion and $7 billion, largely through workforce firings. Michael Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation said the CBOs latest budget projection is an urgent warning to our leaders about Americas costly fiscal path. This election year, voters understand the connection between rising debt and their personal economic condition. And the financial markets are watching. Stabilizing our debt is an essential part of improving affordability, and must be a core component of the 2026 campaign conversation. By Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Amazon is expanding its same-day delivery services for its Pharmacy. In an announcement Wednesday the company said plans to bring Amazon Pharmacy to nearly 4,500 locations around the country, which is an addition of around 2,000 cities and towns by the end of 2026. Amazon Pharmacy was first launched in 2020 in 45 U.S. states. By 2023, it served some locations in all 50. But the service has been continuously expanding to cover a growing number of locations since its launch while offering same-day delivery in more cities. Per Amazon’s announcement, the most recent expansion will now offer same-day delivery to its newly served customers in Idaho and Massachusetts. “Patients shouldn’t have to choose between speed, cost, and convenience when it comes to their medication, regardless of where they live,” John Love, vice president of Amazon Pharmacy, said in the announcement. “By combining our pharmacy expertise with our logistics network, we’re removing critical barriers and helping patients start treatment fastersetting a new standard for accessible, digital-forward pharmacy care.” Amazon Pharmacy has served as a competitor to traditional pharmacies since its launch, offering home delivery on most name brand and generic prescription medications. In 2023, Amazon also launched RxPass, a monthly subscription that offers Prime members in the U.S. as many generic versions of medications as they need for a $5 monthly fee. Additionally, in December, the delivery giant began testing in-office pharmaceutical kiosks filled with medicine at certain One Medical locations. The kiosks aimed to help combat pharmacy deserts, or areas in the U.S. where traditional pharmacies have become more and more scarce. According to research published in JAMA Network in 2024, around 15.8 million people in the U.S. live in pharmacy deserts. Unsurprisingly, areas with decreasing access to pharmacies are disproportionately affecting more socially vulnerable individuals.Amazon’s announcement addressed the issue of a growing number of unserved communities in the announcement, explaining, “In pharmacy deserts, Amazon Pharmacy helps fill critical gaps through 24/7 access to licensed pharmacists, automatic refills, and PillPack from Amazon Pharmacy.” It continued, “PillPack from Amazon Pharmacy organizes medications by dose and time into easy-to-open packets and delivers them monthly to help customers and caregivers manage multiple prescriptions more reliably. In 2025, Amazon Pharmacy also introduced a caregiver support feature to help families manage medications for loved ones.”
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E-Commerce
Threads is testing a simpler way for people to nudge their feed in a specific direction without digging through settings or retraining the algorithm long term. The new feature, called Dear Algo, lets users tell Threads what they want to see more or less of for a short period of time. Instead of relying only on likes, follows, and past behavior, you can now directly ask the app to adjust what shows up in your feed. It works by writing a public post that starts with Dear Algo, followed by your request. For instance, Dear Algo, show me more posts about podcasts, or Dear Algo, show me fewer posts about spoilers for Heated Rivalry. After you post it, Threads adjusts your feed for the next three days based on what you asked for. The change is temporary on purpose. During a live NBA game, you might want your feed filled with reactions and commentary. A day later, you might want to move on to something else. Dear Algo lets you make those shifts without permanently changing how the algorithm understands you. A public request others can use [Image: Meta] These requests are regular posts, not private settings. Other users can see them, interact with them, and repost them. If you repost someone elses Dear Algo request, Threads applies those same preferences to your feed for three days. This turns feed preferences into a kind of discovery tool. If someone you follow is deep into a niche conversation you have not seen yet, you can try their version of the feed for a few days. A more direct way to guide the feed [Image: Meta] Most social platforms offer some form of feed control, but its usually tucked into menus or tied to long term settings. Controlling your algorithm shouldnt be complicated. It should feel like a normal part of using the app, Connor Hayes, head of Threads at parent company Meta Platforms, tells Fast Company. We saw our community experimenting with Dear Algo posts to shape their feed, which inspired us to turn that behavior into an official feature that feels unique to Threads. He added, When what you care about shiftswhether its a big game tonight or a TV premiere next weekyou should be able to tell your feed to shift with you. This is about making Threads the most timely and essential place for whats happening right now. Where it is available Dear Algo is rolling out now in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom, with plans to expand to more countries.
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E-Commerce
If your employer offered you a lump sum to permanently ditch the job that stresses you out like no other, would you take the money and runor worry about what it might cost you later? I never thought Id actually encounter this career conundrum. Looking back, Im surprised by the choice I made. The all-company virtual meeting initially seemed like any of the weeklies that had preceded it. There was a weird icebreaker to get folks loose, various team updates, some HR housekeeping. Then the billionaire who signed all of our checks took the screen. For months, senior leadership had been deprioritizing a project that Iand the vast majority of my colleagueshad been specifically recruited to the startup to produce. They called it a strategic realignment. Or something like that. Our CEO knew many of us werent exactly enthusiastic about the reroute. Achieving this newfound mission, he explained, would require the company to get lean. He wasnt referring to Ozempic. In retrospect, the writing was on the wall like Destinys Childs second album. But those markings might as well have been hieroglyphics, because I sure as hell couldnt decode them. I didnt anticipate what came next. Corporate folks call it a voluntary separation package, (VSP) but at the time, it seemed like both a trap door and an escape. It was a lot like the severance packages that most professionals are familiar with, but instead of outright cutting roles, the company presented every employee with a tantalizing offer: five months of gross salary and half a year of covered health insurance. All that was asked in return was that you leave the company. And dont look back. We had a week to decide. Workflows hit a halt. All outstanding deliverables entered a strange purgatory. For my coworkers, the VSP became the only topic of discussion, as whispers spread about who was clocking out for good, who would remain, and what would be left behind. For some, the decision to secure the bag was a no-brainer. You could have a dope summer, said Gary, one of my Slack homies based in the DMV. He imagined months of passport stamps and midday mischief, and as he spoke, I could damn near feel the beach breeze sweeping across my brow. Gary meant well, but I had to be real. These were the final days of quarantine. The pandemic had ravaged head counts at rival companiesand Black folks like me were often the first out of the door and seldom rehired. Those fortunate enough to be employed held onto their jobs tighter than Stevie Wonder and his locs. I wasnt afraid of chucking the deuces. But I was afraid of starting over in a job market that had already shown me who it was willing to discard first. I didnt have the luxury of pretending this decision was just about vibes. That whole week, the second verse of Donell Jones Where I Wanna Be played on repeat in my head: Do I leave? Do I stay? Do I go? Or think about my life and what matters to me the most? Essentially, I was deciding between the risk of extended unemployment (albeit with a nice runway) or the uncertainty that awaited those who remained at the gig. Dominique Dawes had nothing on the mental gymnastics twirling in my brain. The key to escaping decision paralysis was having conversations with the powers that be. Really, they were more like negotiations. Whats in it for me if I bypass five months of paid freedom and remain on the team? One of our directors hinted that the anticipated departures might open opportunities to ascend the org chart. She couldn’t straight up promise upward mobility, but I was very capable of reading between the lines. For the first time since the offer was announced, the decision stopped feeling emotional and began to feel strategic. If I decided not to abandon ship, it wouldnt be out of fear or blind loyalty. It would be because there was something tangible on the other side of thanks, but no thanks. That week felt like a month, and it ended with an exodus. But I decided to stay put. And it worked out: I was elevated to senior management, and the work . . . well, lets just say the pay bump motivated me to get on board with the new objectives. But sometimes I wonder how the opposite decision mightve played out, considering the stream of job offers that came pouring in once word got out about the company shakeup. Im not a math guy, but Im smart enough to know two salaries beat one. (Gary would agree; he, like some of my other former colleagues, picked up a new gig within a few weeks.) In the end, the voluntary severance was a lesson in recognizing my leverage. It forced me to ask what I wanted, what I was willing to risk, and what decision put me in the strongest position to win. For that one week, my value and my priorities were crystal clear.
Category:
E-Commerce