In the aftermath of the 2008 recession, mentions of layoffs increased on television news, but dropped sharply in early 2013 and remained extremely low until pandemic shutdowns swept the nation in March 2020, but steadily declined from April-May 2020 through early last year and have remained depressed ever since, though with a slight uptick the last few months.

Online news coverage since 2017 similarly shows an uptick beginning in May 2022.

In contrast, mentions of layoffs on business channels peaked in June and sharply declined in July, continuing their decline thus far this month, though at least on Fox Business have edged back up.