Reports of a rocky job market and increased artificial intelligence (AI) use have given way to white-collar dread as the new year begins. As the unemployment rate hit 4.4% in December, job outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that employers across the U.S. had announced over 1.2 million job cuts in 2025 a 58% increase from the previous year (1). Must Read Pessimism about keeping one’s job among educated workers has elevated. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found in December tho ...