Information sector job cuts accelerate to 23,000 in August, outpacing its own trend

The information sector - covering software, data processing, web hosting, publishing and broadcasting - cut 23,000 jobs in August, nearly three times its 12-month average monthly loss of 8,000, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The cuts span computing infrastructure, data processing, publishing and broadcasting. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports AI is now the leading reason companies cite for job cuts in 2026, with year-to-date totals already exceeding combined 2024 and 2025 figures. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings in the information sector rose 5.2% year-over-year, double the economy-wide rate, suggesting employers are keeping fewer, more senior roles. OpenAI's CEO and Gartner research question whether companies are overstating AI's role, with Gartner finding only 1% of first-half 2025 layoffs actually attributable to AI productivity gains. This sector divergence matters because it occurred when nearly every other economic indicator beat expectations.