194K Claims, Amex Cutting 3,500 Jobs at Higher Profit, and Amazon Hiring 300,000: October 26 Briefing
Weekly U.S. job-market intelligence for October 19–25: claims fell to 194,000, near a six-decade low, while American Express, Barclays, eBay and Electronic Arts announced about 9,900 cuts, Amazon opened more than 300,000 holiday roles, and engineering became the strongest postings market in the country.
The week of October 19 to 25, 2026 produced two readings of the same labor market. New claims for unemployment benefits fell to 194,000, close to the lowest level in records that go back to 1969.
In the same five days, four large employers announced about 9,900 job cuts, and Amazon said it would hire more than 300,000 people for the holidays.
September payrolls by state, released October 20, put the split on a map. Employment was essentially unchanged in 47 states and the District of Columbia, rose in two, and fell in one.
Ahead: the Federal Reserve's rate decision on October 28, September metro employment the same day, the third-quarter employment cost index on October 30, September job openings on November 3, and the October jobs report on November 6.
Hiring highlights
Claims fell to 194,000, near a six-decade low
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits count the people who filed for benefits after losing a job. They came in at a seasonally adjusted 194,000 in the week ended October 17, down 6,000 from a revised 200,000 the week before. (Source: CNBC)
The four-week average fell to 197,750, and claims have averaged 212,000 over the past year. The lowest week of 2026 came on July 18, at 189,000, the smallest number since September 1969. (Source: CNBC)
Hiring is the other half of that reading. Nonfarm payrolls rose 29,000 in September and have averaged 69,000 a month this year, and the layoff rate was 1.0% of the workforce in August, down 0.2 percentage point from a year earlier. (Source: CNBC)
"Despite extremely pessimistic views expressed in consumer confidence surveys regarding the economy overall, countless headlines describing job cuts from a variety of businesses, and the phantom job-stealing power of AI, the claims data suggests that labor market conditions are stable," Thomas Simons, chief U.S. economist at Jefferies, wrote in a note to clients. (Source: CNBC)
The week ended October 17 is also the survey week the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses for its October payroll count, which arrives November 6.
Amazon will hire more than 300,000, its first holiday increase in three years
Amazon said October 20 that it will hire more than 300,000 people for seasonal, part-time and full-time roles across its U.S. core operations this holiday season. The company hired 250,000 in each of the previous three seasons, so this is its first increase in three years. (Source: Reuters)
Seasonal workers earn an average of $20 an hour. Full-time operations employees start at a minimum of $20, average nearly $24, and reach more than $32 an hour in total compensation once benefits are counted. (Source: Amazon)
Health coverage is the new piece. From January 1, 2027, seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours a week get coverage from their first day, with plans starting at $5 a week and $5 copays. (Source: Amazon)
Roles are posted weekly from October through December at amazon.com/localjobs, and the listings show what the work pays in specific places.
| Opening | Location | Advertised pay |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery station warehouse associate | Danbury, Connecticut | $21–$23.50/hr |
| Warehouse equipment operator | Easton, Pennsylvania | $21.25–$23.75/hr |
| XL warehouse equipment operator | Huntley, Illinois | $22–$24.50/hr |
| Robotics warehouse associate | Omaha, Nebraska | $20.25–$22.75/hr |
| Locker+ retail associate | Jackson, Wyoming | $21.50–$22/hr plus up to $3,000 signing bonus |
All rows: (Source: CBS News)
The 300,000 counts hires made across the whole season, in seasonal, part-time and full-time roles, so it is larger than any single day's headcount. Amazon also announced a small number of layoffs in its retail division this month, a reminder that holiday operations hiring runs on its own schedule. (Source: Reuters)
September: 47 states held almost still
The state release published October 20 covers September payrolls and jobless rates for every state. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Payrolls were essentially unchanged in 47 states and the District of Columbia, rose in New Jersey (+14,900, or 0.3%) and South Carolina (+12,500, or 0.5%), and fell in Wisconsin (−13,700, or 0.4%). (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Over the year, seven states added jobs and the District of Columbia lost 25,800, or 3.5% of its payroll base, the only over-the-year decline in the country. Texas added 154,300 jobs, California 129,300 and North Carolina 67,000. In percentage terms South Carolina led at 2.3%, ahead of Louisiana at 1.8% and Utah at 1.5%. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Jobless rates ran from 2.0% in South Dakota and 2.2% in North Dakota to 5.6% in the District of Columbia, against 4.2% nationally. Twenty states and the District sat below the national rate, two states and the District sat above it, and 28 were not appreciably different. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
| State | Rate, September 2026 | Change from September 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 2.0% | −0.4 pt |
| North Dakota | 2.2% | −0.4 pt |
| New Hampshire | 2.6% | −0.6 pt |
| Ohio | 3.4% | −0.9 pt |
| North Carolina | 3.4% | −0.5 pt |
| Pennsylvania | 3.6% | −0.8 pt |
| New Jersey | 4.2% | −1.3 pt |
| California | 5.1% | −0.4 pt |
| Connecticut | 5.1% | +0.9 pt |
| District of Columbia | 5.6% | −1.0 pt |
All rows: (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Rates improved in 20 states and the District over the year, led by New Jersey's 1.3-point drop, while seven states moved the other way, led by Connecticut's 0.9-point rise. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The District is the country's largest regional exception. Its unemployment rate fell a full point over the year while its payrolls fell 3.5%, a pairing that suggests people left the labor force faster than employers cut, which fits a shrinking federal footprint in a company town. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Everywhere else, the country's payroll count simply stood still. The weakness this month is national, and a change of zip code alone leaves the odds roughly where they were.
Layoff tracker
American Express will cut 5% of its staff
American Express said October 23, on its third-quarter earnings call, that it will eliminate 5% of its global workforce, about 3,500 jobs, and take a $336 million restructuring charge. The company had almost 77,000 employees at the end of 2025. (Source: CNBC)
Chief financial officer Christophe Le Caillec told CNBC the restructuring would make the company "leaner, more agile, and also to prepare for AI." He added: "You don't want to automate processes that are not optimally structured." (Source: CNBC)
The quarter it cut in was a good one. Adjusted earnings of $4.68 a share beat the $4.48 analysts expected, revenue rose 9% to $20.06 billion, and the company raised full-year guidance to $18.30 to $18.60 a share from $17.30 to $17.90. Shares fell about 4%. (Source: CNBC)
Barclays cut the same share a day earlier
Barclays said October 22 that it will remove about 5,000 jobs, roughly 5% of its workforce, with about 60% of the cuts in support functions including developers. The bank described the outcome in its earnings presentation as "organisational simplification and technology change efficiency driven by AI." (Source: CNBC)
Third-quarter pretax profit rose 12% to £2.3 billion, or $3.1 billion, matching forecasts, while group income of £7.4 billion came in below the £7.61 billion analysts expected. (Source: CNBC)
eBay cut 9%, its second round this year
eBay told staff October 21 that it will cut about 1,000 jobs, 9% of its workforce, in a memo from chief executive Jamie Iannone. The company cut about 800 roles, 6% of staff at the time, in February. (Source: Los Angeles Times)
A spokesperson said the step keeps the company "operating from a position of strength by aligning our teams and resources with our top strategic priorities." Shares rose about 1.2%, and eBay reports third-quarter results October 28. (Source: Los Angeles Times)
Electronic Arts cut 400 and closed BioWare
Electronic Arts said October 21 that it will cut around 400 jobs, about 3% of staff, and shut BioWare, the studio behind "Mass Effect" and "Dragon Age", including roughly 50 roles there. The next "Mass Effect" game and a Sims project were cancelled. (Source: Los Angeles Times)
Chief operating officer David Tinson and chief studios officer Cam Weber told staff the company was "making deliberate choices to align talent and investments where we see the greatest opportunities for players and long-term growth." EA went private in August through a $55 billion buyout that put about $18 billion of debt on its books, and earlier this year it set a plan to save up to $700 million. (Source: Los Angeles Times)
The rest of the ledger
Two more rounds arrived without numbers. Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano Amon told staff October 20 that the chipmaker will cut jobs globally in a "performance-focused reduction," with notifications starting in November. The memo gave no figure, and Qualcomm had about 52,000 employees last September. (Source: Reuters)
Bloomberg reported October 21 that Comcast plans a significant number of cuts across its cable, broadband and wireless businesses, with announcements possible within weeks. Comcast, which had about 179,000 employees at the end of 2025, did not comment to Reuters. (Source: Reuters)
| Company | Announced | Jobs | Share of workforce | Stated reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barclays | Oct 22 | ~5,000 | ~5% | AI and technology change |
| American Express | Oct 23 | ~3,500 | 5% | Efficiency and preparation for AI |
| eBay | Oct 21 | ~1,000 | 9% | Aligning teams with priorities |
| Electronic Arts | Oct 21 | ~400 | ~3% | Portfolio choices after buyout |
| Total | ~9,900 |
Two stories from earlier this month kept running. Netflix cut roughly 1,000 roles, about 6% of staff, on October 14, the largest round in its history. Kroger is three weeks into a plan to remove about 3,000 corporate jobs over three years. Both companies were profitable when they announced.
The two largest cuts came from banks, a day apart, with nearly identical reasoning: take out layers and support roles first, then automate what remains.
Industry spotlight: engineering postings are now the strongest in the country
Indeed's Hiring Lab publishes a monthly snapshot built on its Job Postings Index, which counts job ads on a given day as a seven-day average and sets February 1, 2020, to 100. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
The index reached 103.8 on October 16, about 4% above its pre-pandemic level and 2.8% higher than a year earlier. In October 2025 it was running 8.1% below the year before. New postings, meaning ads seven days old or less, held at 99.2. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
Demand also spread out. Sixty-eight percent of occupational sectors had more postings than a year earlier, up from 49% at the start of September. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
| Sector | Postings index, October 16 (February 2020 = 100) |
|---|---|
| Engineering | 145 |
| Healthcare | 131 |
| Production and manufacturing | 124 |
| Human resources | 99 |
| Software development | 79 |
All rows: (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab; levels are as charted by Indeed and rounded)
Mechanical, civil and electrical engineering are three of the five strongest sectors, behind only physicians and surgeons and therapy roles. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
Posted pay is falling behind prices. Advertised wages rose 2.4% over the year in September, against 3.7% consumer inflation. Electrical engineering postings advertise 5.6% more than a year earlier, and IT systems and solutions 4.7%. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
The data-center build-out shows up in its own series. Data-center postings grew another 20% in the three months to the end of September and sit 147% above June 2024, while tech postings outside data centers held at 99 and all postings at 91 on the same index. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
A postings index counts open ads, and the count of brand-new ads is flat, so the gain sits in ads that stay open longer. The software line tells the other half of the story: Seattle's local index is 67, San Francisco's 72 and Santa Rosa's 73, the weakest in the country. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
Growth roles and skills: three engineering occupations, and where they hire
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects each occupation to 2035 and publishes the pay and the entry route alongside the growth rate. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
| Occupation | 2025 median pay | Jobs, 2025 | Projected change, 2025–35 | Average annual openings | Entry education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Electrical and electronics engineers | $125,040 | 297,900 | +8% (23,400) | 16,300 | Bachelor's degree |
| Mechanical engineers | $104,110 | 298,500 | +11% (33,500) | 17,800 | Bachelor's degree |
| Civil engineers | $100,840 | 380,600 | +6% (24,500) | 22,700 | Bachelor's degree |
Most of those openings are replacements. Mechanical engineering adds 33,500 jobs over the decade but expects about 17,800 openings a year, and the bureau attributes most of them to workers who retire, transfer or leave the field. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
The employers are engineering firms and utilities. Engineering services firms employ 22% of electrical engineers, electric power generation, transmission and distribution another 10%. Architectural and engineering services employ 20% of mechanical engineers, machinery manufacturing 14% and transportation equipment manufacturing 10%. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Licensure matters in all three. Engineers who sell services directly to the public need a state license, which adds exam time to any route into the field. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
One more number from the same snapshot concerns skills. AI-related ads made up 7.3% of all postings in September, past the previous peak of 3.3% in 2022. Indeed counts those ads by keywords, among them machine learning, data science, generative AI, large language models and ChatGPT. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
Those keywords are the terms a candidate can search by when picking a lane, and what an employer will scan a résumé for.
Read the two datasets in the order they were published. The bureau's projections describe a decade; the postings index describes October 16.
Job seeker tip: check the map before you rewrite the résumé
There are now 1.0 job openings for every unemployed worker, below the roughly 1.2 of 2019. Nationally, the number of vacancies roughly matches the number of unemployed workers. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
That average hides large differences in both directions, and three public numbers show them without a subscription.
The first is your occupation's postings index. Software development at 79 means fewer ads than in February 2020, while engineering at 145 means nearly half again as many. Two candidates with the same years of experience face different odds depending on which line they apply into. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
The second is your metro. Indeed's Labor Tightness Index ranks about 800 metro and micropolitan areas by how easy it is to find work, and the weakest in September were Seattle, San Francisco and Santa Rosa, all large tech hubs. The tightest were the Lebanon-Claremont area on the New Hampshire-Vermont line and Burlington, Vermont, where an older population and retirements keep demand high. (Source: Indeed Hiring Lab)
The third is the state rate. South Dakota at 2.0% and North Dakota at 2.2% sit more than three points below the District of Columbia at 5.6%, and the District's payrolls are shrinking, so a federal-adjacent search faces both a higher rate and fewer jobs. (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Run all three before you spend another month on applications. A strong occupation in a weak metro nets out; a weak occupation in a strong metro usually stays weak. The results tell you which lever to pull: widen the geography, or widen the occupation into an adjacent lane where postings are above 100.
Next week brings the Fed's decision on October 28 with markets pricing about a 15% chance of a quarter-point increase, then September metro employment and the first-quarter business employment dynamics report the same day. The third-quarter employment cost index lands October 30, September job openings November 3, and the October jobs report November 6.
This story was produced automatically by a channel. One sentence is all it takes for Neodrop to keep producing for you.