Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Biden's labor secretary says he's watching tech layoffs closely, but for now it's still a good time to find a job

Biden's labor secretary says he's watching tech layoffs closely, but for now it's still a good time to find a job

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh said he's not sure if the tech layoffs will be an issue for just a couple of months, or a longer-term situation.
The job market is booming, even if it doesn't feel like it. The country added over half a million jobs in January, well above economists' expectations, and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest since 1969.

It might feel contradictory, with thousands of layoffs sweeping across the tech and media sectors. But the data shows that layoffs are not spreading to the broader economy, indicating that some sectors are just dealing with their own adjustments.

Even so, Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh is keeping an eye on the situation.

"We're watching that closely to see what that means for the tech sector," Walsh told Insider. "I'm not sure if this is a couple of months issue or is this a longer term situation, but we're watching that closely." Walsh said that "we're seeing a lot of those folks who are being laid off are going back to work in the private sector."

Walsh is not sold that apocalyptic predictions about economic conditions are going to come true. While the economy probably won't add over half a million jobs every month, he said, gains have been consistently strong over the last 12 months.

"I'm not in the camp that we're heading towards a recession or downturn in the economy. There might be certain sectors that might be hit a little harder than others," he said. "We have to continue to watch this and, and hopefully we continue to see good, strong growth throughout the year."

And for those who are laid off or job hunting, Walsh wants them to know that "there's work out there." Just look at today's report: Hospitality and business services are hiring an "incredible amount," he said, and there's "options out there for people."

Other sectors Walsh sees opportunity in: Construction, especially with the bipartisan infrastructure bill doling out billions; healthcare, especially in eldercare and assisted living facilities; nursing; and cybersecurity.

That doesn't mean that you should necessarily quit for a better deal. Even with over 4 million Americans quitting their jobs, Walsh doesn't want the emphasis to be on the Great Resignation — he said he doesn't believe in terms like that — but instead on companies shifting more towards retaining the workers that they do have.

"Ultimately, what we'd like to see is sustainability in the job place. I think a lot of employers are seeing that," Walsh said.

That might be part of the reason that the jobs report is so robust, according to Walsh. Employers are keeping around people, rather than laying them off as they would have in the past.

"When companies had to lay people off at the beginning of the pandemic, they had a really hard time getting people back," Walsh said. "I think that the lesson is learned from that experience."
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×