US Information sector loses 10,000 jobs in September, lowest since 2020
Summary
In September 2026, the US Information sector experienced significant job losses, shedding another 10,000 positions, bringing total employment in the sector to 2.739 million, the lowest level since December 2020. This marks a dramatic decline of 376,000 jobs, or 12.1%, since the sector peaked in November 2022. The downturn is particularly notable given that during the 2001 recession, the sector lost 568,000 jobs, indicating the current crisis is severe, with job losses concentrated in areas such as computing infrastructure, data processing, and publishing. Despite the decline in the Information sector, the overall US payroll employment remained relatively stable, highlighting that the weakness is isolated to specific industries.
Analysis
US Information sector: The US Information sector is a Bureau of Labor Statistics industry category covering publishing, broadcasting, telecommunications, data processing, web hosting, and related information services. It is relevant here because employment in the sector declined again in September, continuing a prolonged downturn from its late-2022 peak. Recent trend: BLS data show Information employment has fallen for multiple consecutive periods, with the sector remaining below its late-2022 employment peak. Broader labor market: The September decline in Information employment occurred even as overall US payroll employment changed little, indicating that weakness was concentrated in particular industries rather than uniform across the labor market. Industry composition: Recent reporting identifies computing infrastructure, data processing, web hosting, publishing, and broadcasting among the areas contributing to the sector’s employment losses.
Categories
macropoliticstech
Related sources
- https://www.axios.com/2026/09/08/jobs-media-software-information
- https://quasa.io/insights/us-hiring-rebounded-by-162-000-jobs-but-information-roles-still-fell
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- https://www.bls.gov/news.release/archives/empsit_10022026.htm
- https://www.bls.gov/ces/
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- https://www.deel.com/deel-works/labor-market-roundup-september-2026/
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