US employers announced over 108,000 layoffs across January, in the highest to start the year since the depths of the Great Recession in 2009. Many executives were quick to blame AI for the layoffs, though the real reason might be simpler: companies just aren’t optimistic about the direction the economy is heading. According to new reporting by CNBC, layoffs are up 118 percent from January, 2025, and a whopping 205 percent compared to December 2025. With so much hope for AI’s future, it’s no wonder many commentators and businesses titans have blamed the tech for the bone-dry job market. Yet as the market research firm Forrester explained in its January labor report, the “job apocalypse” is way overblown.