Layoffs in the U.S. are at their highest levels since the COVID year of 2020

The year 2025 is no longer a “no-hire, no-fire” year. We now have a clearer picture of job creation and layoffs for the first nine months of 2025 (see chart). We also have confirmed project counts announced in the South since January that show economic development projects are lagging behind significantly as well (see SouthBound column this issue). 

Even without a jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for September as a result of the Federal government shutdown, we were already in the negative by about 60 percent compared to job creation the first nine months of 2024. 

At the end of the third quarter, the BLS reported 598,000 jobs created. Take the average job gains from the June to August quarter and we can assume the unreported job report would have been around 25,000 jobs gained in September. ADP, however, estimated that payrolls among private employers in the U.S. declined by 32,000 jobs in September. 

Disregarding the ADP report, and using our estimated September job gains of 25,000, that tally shows that the U.S. has gained only 623,000 jobs for the first three quarters of 2025 compared to 1,384,000 jobs gained in 2024 during the same period. 

Layoffs after three quarters

On the layoff front, employers across the U.S. have cut nearly 1 million jobs in calendar 2025 through September, the largest number of layoffs since 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an October report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, the first nine months of 2020 saw 2 million layoffs nationwide. We are halfway there in 2025 with three months to go. 

And on top of that, mass layoffs of U.S. federal employees are “imminent” during the government shutdown. That is according to the White House. The Trump administration has already cut 300,000 civil service jobs as of the end of the third quarter. 

Alabama defense sector enters a new era of strategic growth

When it comes to national defense, Alabama is not just keeping pace, it’s accelerating the trajectory. With the announcement that the U.S. Space Command will be based at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, the state enters a new frontier of strategic
importance.

The decision, made official in the summer quarter by the Trump Administration, caps a multi-year campaign to recognize Alabama’s aerospace and defense capability, positioning Redstone as the nucleus of space-based military operations. 

Around 1,400 new Space Command jobs are expected to transition to Huntsville over the next five years.

Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal already hosts the Army Materiel Command, Missile Defense Agency, the Army Space and Missile Defense Command and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. In addition, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and other defense companies have a major presence in Huntsville.

Ellen McNair, Secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce, said about the announcement, “The region offers a rare combination of mission-critical infrastructure, a highly skilled workforce and a deep legacy of innovation in aerospace and defense.

Airbus celebrates 10 years; delivers 100th A220 aircraft from its complex in Mobile, Ala.

Alabama’s aerospace industry reached new heights as Airbus announced in the summer the delivery of the 100th A220 aircraft produced at its U.S. Manufacturing Facility in Mobile, marking a major milestone for the site and for the state’s thriving aviation sector. In September, the European commercial aircraft maker celebrated 10 years of production in Mobile. 

Airbus launched A220 manufacturing at the Alabama facility in 2019 and opened a dedicated final assembly line for the aircraft at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley the next year, following a significant investment project.

Five deep-water ports in Louisiana launch a unified marketing strategy

The five deep-water ports of the Lower Mississippi River — Port of Greater Baton Rouge; Port of South Louisiana; Port of New Orleans; St. Bernard Port, Harbor and Terminal District; and Louisiana Gateway Port — have entered into a landmark agreement to develop a collaborative marketing plan. This partnership aims to present the ports as a single, strong system aimed at increasing international trade, driving economic growth, attracting new business along with foreign direct investment and supporting Louisiana’s long-term economic development goals.

JetZero is on the fast-track for massive next-generation airliner plant in Greensboro, N.C.

Greensboro is a few steps closer to becoming one of the South’s largest aviation cluster markets. 

In the summer quarter, JetZero’s president and COO Dan Da Silva outlined some timelines for what will amount to a $5 billion complex like those seen in Charleston (Boeing) and Mobile (Airbus), two of only a handful of final airliner assembly markets in the country including Seattle (Boeing). 

Da Silva announced some key developments at a Greensboro Chamber of Commerce event late in the summer quarter:

• Ground is expected to be broken on the site adjacent to the Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTI) by the second quarter of 2026. 

• At the event, Da Silva said, “The power infrastructure to Duke Energy to water to the land prep and everything that goes into putting a factory like that together” (is underway). 

• The first employees to be hired will be administrative and engineering. 

• The next step will focus on composite R&D, followed by building the elements of the airplane, which is scheduled for 2027. 

JetZero’s next generation airliner will have better lift and less drag, which will allow the aircraft to burn 50 percent less fuel per passenger than any other airliner produced today. 

Da Silva also said JetZero will be employing more than the 14,500 workers. Those employees will be housed in the massive factory and its headquarters adjacent to it. 

Raleigh-Cary metro ranks No. 1 for job opportunities

The North Carolina Research Triangle economy, unlike many large Southern metros, is doing well according to reports. The Raleigh-Cary metro has been named No. 1 by a San Francisco-based report done by Checkr. The report analyzed all the important metrics, such as labor force, open jobs, income per capita and wage growth. 

Duke Energy considers merger of its Carolina utilities

Charlotte-based Duke Energy says it will move to combine electric utility subsidiaries in North Carolina and South Carolina into one entity. The merger could save customers in Duke territories in both states more than $1 billion in the first 10 years. 

Major business groups in South Carolina to merge in 2026

The South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce are forming a new organization — called South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce — formally combining entities, resources and leadership effective January 1.

According to SC Biz, “Combining SCMA and the SC Chamber offers a unique opportunity to speak with one strong voice for manufacturing and commerce in South Carolina — strengthening advocacy and programming that benefit all of us in the Palmetto State,” said Grant Burns, who will serve as chair of the organization, and is also executive vice president and general counsel of AFL, a fiber optics manufacturer in Duncan.

Texas will benefit the most from Apple’s newly announced $600 billion investment in the U.S. 

California-based Apple Inc. announced its new American Manufacturing Program in early August. Existing chip plants and other suppliers in Texas, like those in Austin, Sherman and Fort Worth, are expected to get a big piece of Apple’s investment pie. 

Nearly $4.4 billion in Texas clean energy investments canceled in first half of 2025

Due to federal policy changes, Texas companies canceled over $4 billion in publicly announced solar and battery projects in the first six months of this year, according to the Rhodium Group. Rhodium also stated that nationwide, for the first time, canceled investments have exceeded new investments in the sector nationwide. 

ExxonMobil may delay or cancel its large-scale Baytown, Texas, hydrogen project

Houston-based ExxonMobil is considering canceling its blue hydrogen project due to changes in the 45V hydrogen tax credit under the “Big, Beautiful Bill” signed by President Trump. The legislation imposed a shorter 2028 deadline for projects to begin construction to receive the tax credits. 

Houston leads nation in clean energy job growth

Oil-company-headquarter-rich Houston led the nation in clean energy jobs in 2024. “Space City’s” job growth in clean energy grew by 20.7 percent in 2024. 

Houston’s August unemployment rate reaches 8-year high

As layoffs continue to mount Southern-wide and nation-wide, Houston’s energy sector has been hit hard, losing over 30,000 jobs in one month this summer. According to the Greater Houston Partnership, the unemployment rate in “Bayou City” rose .5 percent, bringing the overall rate up to 5 percent. The last time Houston’s unemployment rate was 5 percent was in 2017. 

Several Chinese projects eyeing the South

According to sources, some unnamed Chinese officials are eyeing several large projects in the South, with sources in North Carolina telling SB&D they are also working a few. The last time the South saw this many potential Chinese projects was in the fall of 2015, when SB&D’s cover story was titled, “Here Come the Chinese; Chinese Investments Represent the Fastest Growing FDI Source.”