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What Percentage of People Are Fired? [2026]
Understanding Job Termination Rates: Facing termination can be a daunting experience, but it’s more common than many realize. If you’ve ever been let go, know that you’re not alone. Recent data indicates that:
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40% of Americans have experienced being fired at least once in their careers.
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15.4 million Americans were laid off in 2022, reflecting a significant 62% decrease compared to the peak layoffs of 2020.
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The cost of replacing a terminated employee can range from 16.1% to 20.4% of their annual salary, with costs soaring up to 213% for senior executive positions.
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From February to June 2022, the layoff and discharge rate across private industries stood at 1%.
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In June 2022, the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector had a firing rate of 2.8%, the highest across all industries.
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Conversely, the federal government reported a firing rate of only 0.2%, the lowest among various sectors.
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Notably, 70% of individuals aged 26-30 have never faced termination, compared to just 50% of those aged 61-65.
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Importantly, getting fired isn’t the end of your career; 91% of executives who were terminated successfully secured positions that were as good as or better than their previous roles.
| Year | Total layoffs (in millions) |
|---|---|
| 2022 | 15.4M |
| 2021 | 17.0M |
| 2020 | 40.8M |
| 2019 | 21.9M |
| 2018 | 21.8M |
| 2017 | 21.6M |
References
Layoffs and discharges levels and rates by industry and region — Bureau of Labor Statistics
There Are Significant Business Costs to Replacing Employees — Center for American Progress
Research: When Getting Fired Is Good for Your Career — Harvard Business Review
Author
Matthew Zane is the lead editor of Zippia's How To Get A Job Guides. He is a teacher, writer, and world-traveler that wants to help people at every stage of the career life cycle. He completed his masters in American Literature from Trinity College Dublin and BA in English from the University of Connecticut.
