US employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September, down 20% from a year earlier and the lowest monthly total in four years, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said. Announced cuts totaled 573,195 through September, nearly 40% below the first nine months of 2025, while employers' hiring plans rose 3% to 210,612 workers. The data, alongside initial jobless claims of 197,000 and a 3.3% rise in JOLTS hiring, point to a labor market in which employers are retaining workers despite restrained hiring. Employers announced nearly 91,000 seasonal jobs, down 23% from last year, with Michaels and Spirit Halloween accounting for 62,000 combined positions. The labor figures arrive before the September employment report, for which economists forecast 90,000 payroll gains, and as the Federal Reserve weighs further rate increases after its first hike in three years.