Job cuts skyrocketed to 270,416 year-to-date, an increase of 396 percent from the same period a year ago, with the tech sector taking the greatest hit with 102,391 job cuts. In March, companies announce 90,000 job cuts, a 15 percent increase from February. Weekly jobless claims totaled 228,000 for the week ending April 1st, 1.1 percent higher than the Dow Jones estimate of 200,000. Continuing claims were slightly higher at 1.823 million, the highest since December 2021.