December 2, 2022 - Recent rounds of layoffs at large U.S. companies mark a departure from the usual pattern as executives navigate fears of an economic slowdown: This time, white-collar workers have been among the first and hardest hit, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

Amazon, DoorDash, Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Ford, Walmart and H&M have all let go thousands of office workers, while maintaining warehouse and other jobs. 

Typically in previous economic downturns, companies in capital-intensive industries—including mining, manufacturing and construction—were among the first to lay off workers. Now, the pattern is different. The biggest slowdowns in job postings have been in industries dominated by white-collar workers, according to a ZipRecruiter analysis.   

Since June, when the Federal Reserve accelerated its interest-rate hikes and market concern about a downturn surged, tech job postings have fallen 36%. Those for business services jobs fell 32%, while science and legal jobs are down about 31% A white-collar slowdown has yet to show up in the most recent federal employment data, which continues to reflect strong hiring. Read the full story.