US companies announced just under 53,000 job cuts last month, making it the slowest August for layoffs since 2022, according to data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Consumer products companies, including Procter & Gamble (PG) and Estée Lauder (EL), were behind more than 10,000 of the cuts. Food producers followed, with nearly 8,000 layoffs, a third of which came from Tyson Foods in response to a historic cattle shortage.

Although job cut announcements rose from July, total layoffs so far this year are down 41% compared to 2025 and dropped 15% excluding government jobs.

“This is the quietest August since 2022, but is generally on average for the month since the mid-2010s. What we’d like to see with low layoffs is an increase in hiring activity,” Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. “While companies are making plans to hire more workers than last year, according to our numbers, it doesn’t appear those positions are being filled quickly.”

Companies blamed artificial intelligence for just 3,462 of their cuts, the lowest monthly total since the end of last year. Restructuring was the most commonly cited reason for layoffs in August, behind over 16,000 of the cuts.

Still, AI has been cited in more than 1 in 5 job cuts this year, and remains the leading reason for layoffs in 2026. The technology sector announced just 6,103 cuts in August — its lowest level all year — but is still the largest source of job cuts so far this year.

On Friday, the Labor Department will release its latest look at employment in the US. The economy is expected to have added 55,000 jobs in August.

Claire Boston is a Senior Reporter for Yahoo Finance covering housing, mortgages, and home insurance.

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