WASHINGTON, July 2 (Xinhua) -- The second quarter of this year saw the highest number of job cuts in the United States since 2020, according to the data released Wednesday by an executive coaching firm.

The second quarter logged 247,256 job cuts, the highest second quarter total since 1,238,364 cuts announced in 2020, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm.

The figure went up 39 percent from the 177,391 cuts announced in the second quarter last year, and down 50 percent from the 497,052 cuts announced in the first quarter.

U.S.-based employers announced 47,999 job cuts in June, down 49 percent from May's 93,816. The number dropped 2 percent from 48,786 announced in June last year, the company said in a report.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government cut 3,801 jobs in June, up 46 percent from 2,600 in May.

"The bulk of companies cited economic conditions last month. We saw some DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) activity and have tracked over 2,000 jobs directly attributed to tariffs this year, but for the most part it was a quiet June," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and labor expert for the company. ■