Other than the early months of the pandemic, we haven't seen anything like this for a long time.  Mass layoffs are happening all over the nation, major retailers and large restaurant chains are deeply struggling, and the cost of living is out of control.  I am going to share more numbers with you today that confirm that a very painful economic downturn is now upon us.  For example, a survey that was recently conducted by outplacement firm Careerminds discovered that 78 percent of HR leaders in the U.S. admit that their companies have been through multiple rounds of layoffs.  In fact, 40 percent of HR leaders in the U.S. say that layoffs are now occurring quarterly at their companies…

• Financial difficulties pushed 78% of U.S.-based HR leaders to conduct multiple rounds of layoffs within the past year, according to the results of a July survey by outplacement firm Careerminds, with many stating they oversaw "serial layoffs" that occurred in rapid succession.

• The survey of 600 respondents found that 75% of reported layoffs occurred within less than six months of one another, and 40% of HR leaders said layoffs happened quarterly at their organizations. Financial instability constituted the biggest driver of job cuts, followed by changing business priorities, market disruption and post-pandemic overstaffing.