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Cocoa prices hit record highs in 2024 amid a global supply shortage.
Officials at companies like Barry Callebaut, Hershey, Lindt & Sprüngli Group and Mondelez have alluded to the challenge higher cocoa prices put on their chocolate business.
Expect to pay about 10% to 20% more for chocolate this Valentine’s Day than last year, one agricultural economist said.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Sorry, lovebirds, but that chocolate you’re buying for your sweetie this Valentine’s Day probably comes with a bigger price tag.
Candy is the most popular Valentine’s Day gift, beating out other tokens of affection like flowers, cards and jewelry, according to the National Retail Federation. Additionally, chocolate accounts for more than half of all confectionery sales, according to the National Confectioners Association, a trade group.

But chocolate makers have been raising prices to offset record costs for cocoa, company officials and agricultural economists said.
Consumers will likely pay about 10% to 20% more for chocolate this Valentine’s Day than they did last year, said David Branch, a commodities analyst at the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute.
“It’s a significant increase,” Branch said.
For example, the price of a king-size two-pack of Reese’s hearts increased by 13% from February 2024 to February 2025, to $2.59 from $2.29, according to Retail Brew. Meanwhile, the price of a 10.8-ounce bag of milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses rose to $5.49 today from $4.89 in January 2024, a 12% increase, according to Retail Brew.
The current retail price for U.S. chocolate ranges from $3.08 to $5.72 per pound, according to Selina Wamucii, which conducts agriculture market research.

Cocoa prices ‘skyrocketed’

Cocoa is a key ingredient in chocolate: in fact it must be present to be legally described as chocolate.
West Africa — predominantly Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana — account for about 80% of world cocoa production, according to a recent JPMorgan research note.
Disease pressures, climate change and bad weather “ravaged” crops in West Africa, fueling a global cocoa shortage that has persisted since early 2024, JPMorgan said.
Cocoa prices “skyrocketed” as its availability hit historic lows, according to JPMorgan.

Global cocoa prices hit a record high on Dec. 18, when they neared $13,000 per metric ton, said Branch of the Wells Fargo Agri-Food Institute.
That’s significantly above where price levels were at the start of 2024. The average cocoa price in December — $10,846 per metric ton — was up more than 140% from the roughly $4,500 average in January 2024, Branch said.
“It’s really driven by three years of horrific weather” in West Africa, Branch said. Rainfall has been above the historic average followed by longer-than-usual dry seasons, which stress cocoa production, he added.
The cocoa supply deficit — the difference between what buyers want and what’s available — rose to 478,000 metric tons last year, the highest deficit in 60 years, Branch said.

Chocolate inflation is ‘unprecedented’

The rising cocoa prices have pressured profits for chocolate makers, leading them to raise prices for customers, experts said.
Hershey, for example, recently alluded to high cocoa prices when forecasting lower-than-expected company profits for 2025.
“Offsetting the high cocoa costs forced the Group to adjust its pricing, which will be further required in 2025,” the Lindt & Sprüngli Group, a Swiss chocolatier, said in a January release about 2024 sales results.
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The average wholesale price for chocolate and confectionery products swelled by more than 30% in January 2025 from January 2024 — a roughly fivefold increase in the inflation rate from 12 months before, according to the producer price index.
“We see the chocolate market set for inflation largely unprecedented in recent history,” Celine Pannuti, head of European staples and beverages at JPMorgan, said in the research note.
Chocolate prices in 2025 paid by consumers will likely accelerate by a double-digit percentage in the low teens, Pannuti said.
Officials at other major chocolatiers including Mondelez and Barry Callebaut alluded to a probable need for additional price hikes this year.

“The recent [cocoa] bean price spike means that further pricing will be taken in the chocolate market,” Peter Vanneste, chief financial officer of Barry Callebaut, said in a January call with analysts.
However, higher prices have also pressured consumer demand, Vanneste said.
As of mid-January, Q4 2024 data on cocoa grindings showed a year-on-year decline, “an indicator that cocoa demand is plummeting,” according to the International Cocoa Organization.
Consumers purchased $21.4 billion of chocolate during the year ended Aug. 11, 2024, up 1.5% from the prior year, according to the most recent data available from the National Confectioners Association. But sales volume declined by 3% over that period, even as the retail dollar value of those sales rose, the data shows.
The data signals consumers are paying more and buying less, Branch said.
“The market is kind of in turmoil, and will pretty much stay that way for this [cocoa] season,” he said.

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Collectively, Americans owe a record $1.21 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Consumer spending has remained remarkably resilient, even in the face of high interest rates.

Asiavision | E+ | Getty Images

Collectively, Americans now owe a record $1.21 trillion on their credit cards, according to a new quarterly report on household debt from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Credit card balances jumped by $45 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, driven in part by holiday spending, and are now 7.3% higher than a year ago.

At the same time, credit card delinquency rates “remained elevated,” the New York Fed researchers found — with 7.18% of balances transitioning to delinquency over the last year. That uptick could indicate “borrowers are having some difficulty repaying,” the researchers said on a press call Wednesday.

“No one should be surprised that credit card debt hit another record high,” said Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree and the author of “Ask Questions, Save Money, Make More.”
“Stubborn inflation has shrunk a lot of Americans’ financial margin for error from slim to about none, forcing people to lean more heavily on credit card debt,” Schulz said.
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Credit card debt has remained stable over the last two decades. However, in the years since the pandemic, households largely spent down their excess savings, which sparked a rebound in credit card balances. Consumer spending continues to remain strong, despite high borrowing costs.

“There’s very little reason to believe that we won’t continue to see new credit card debt records being set going forward,” Schulz said.

Credit card rates top 20%

Meanwhile, credit cards have become one of the most expensive ways to borrow money.
Lower-income households that had to stretch to cover price increases, have been hit especially hard after the Federal Reserve’s string of interest rate hikes lifted the average credit card rate to more than 20% — near an all-time high.
Even as the Fed lowered its benchmark at the end of last year, the average credit card rate barely budged.
“For people who are carrying a balance … a higher interest rate is going to make those balances rise more quickly, it’s also going to make the payments higher on a monthly basis,” the New York Fed researchers said.

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Staffers from Elon Musk’s secretive government slashing effort, DOGE, have pushed the highest Department of Education officials out of their own offices, rearranged the furniture and set up white-noise machines to muffle their voices, employees at the agency said.
Instead of collaborating with Trump officials, the DOGE employees appear to be competing with one another to make the biggest budget cuts, employees said.
What’s more, the DOGE teams’ budget-cutting demands appear to be arbitrary, and not rooted in any political or policy goals, employees said.

Elon Musk speaks next to President Donald Trump, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., Feb. 11, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters

Staffers from Elon Musk’s secretive government slashing effort, DOGE, have pushed the highest-ranking officials at the Department of Education — even those recently appointed by President Donald Trump — out of their own offices, rearranged the furniture and set up white noise machines to muffle their voices, employees at the agency said.
Deprived of her office, acting Education Secretary Denise Carter was spotted last week sitting outside the main leadership suite, one staffer said. Meanwhile, acting Under Secretary James Bergeron held off moving into his office, sources told CNBC, because DOGE staffers were occupying it.

“They took over the top real estate; they made themselves at home,” an official told CNBC. “It was that attitude of, ‘We can do whatever we want.'”

A view of the U.S. Department of Education building in Washington, D.C., U.S., Feb. 1, 2025. 
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters

Sources for this story were granted anonymity because they feared retribution if they were named.
Having taken over the VIP offices on the seventh floor of the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., representatives of the task force known as the Department of Government Efficiency then went looking for office equipment around the building to “move into their compound,” an Education Department staffer told CNBC.
Asked about the working arrangements and office space, deputy assistant secretary for communications Madi Biedermann told CNBC, “The DOGE employees are federal employees. They have been sworn in, have the necessary background checks and clearances, and are focused on making the Department more cost-efficient, effective, and accountable to the taxpayers.”
Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to dismantle the Department of Education. As an agency authorized by Congress, the department cannot be eliminated without congressional approval.

But in the meantime, Musk and his DOGE team can slowly starve it.

A White House spokesperson did not respond to questions from CNBC about the workflow at the Education Department.
Trump’s nominee to lead the Department of Education, Linda McMahon, will have her confirmation hearing Thursday.
Education Department officials described tension between the DOGE team and department leadership — including Republicans who arrived at the department to help implement a conservative education agenda.
Asked about the workplace dynamics, Biedermann said the DOGE staffers “are working in collaboration with Department staff. There is nothing inappropriate or nefarious going on.”
According to employees, however, the DOGE teams appear to be competing with one another to get a very big headline on budget cuts.
On Monday, that headline was indeed very big: “$881 million” worth of contracts with the Education Department had been canceled, according to the DOGE social media account.
This competitive element of the DOGE cost-cutting effort is likely due in part to the rules that govern the DOGE staffers’ employment.
Most DOGE workers are designated as “special government employees,” a category that insulates them from some federal disclosure requirements. But in exchange, the status limits the total number of days they can work per year to 130.
The way the DOGE teams appear to be operating, they have about four months to make all the cuts they can. After that, the agencies will be left to deal with the fallout.

DOGE’s shifting demands

Day to day, the DOGE team members have been “secretive,” a current staffer said. “They didn’t make conversation.”
Some employees said they feel they need to physically stay out of the way of DOGE staffers, and one official described the overall vibe from the team as “intimidating.”
Constantly shifting demands from DOGE employees about how much funding they need to cut have left employees confused and afraid, two employees told CNBC.
What’s more, they said, the demands of DOGE teams appear to be arbitrary, and not rooted in any political or policy goals.

In many cases, the DOGE teams don’t tell department staffers which contracts they need to cancel, employees said.
Instead, staffers are given a figure, typically in person rather than in writing, and told to cut that much money from programs, sources report. Other times they were given a percentage of funding and told to cut that much.
One employee recalled a demand by DOGE employees to slash around 80% of the funding for websites and services that support federal student loan applications.
Around 17 million families apply for college aid each year using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, according to higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz. More

The consumer price index rose 3% for the 12 months ended in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
Inflation increases were broad-based in January, economists said, including for consumer staples like groceries and energy.
Economists worry that broad disinflation is over, even as President Donald Trump’s policy agenda around tariffs and immigration threatens to raise prices this year.

A person shops at a Whole Foods Market grocery store in New York City on Dec. 17, 2024.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Inflation jumped in January on the back of higher prices for consumer staples like groceries and energy. Economists worry inflation has become entrenched above the Federal Reserve’s target, even as President Donald Trump’s policies around tariffs and immigration threaten to exacerbate it.
The consumer price index, an inflation gauge, rose 3% for the 12 months ended in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.

The January reading is up from 2.9% in December. It marks the fourth consecutive month of increases in the annual inflation rate, when it was at 2.4% in September.
“It feels like everything that could go wrong in this report did go wrong,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s.

That said, he cautioned that one month of data doesn’t necessarily make a trend. It would be wise to see a few more inflation reports before ringing alarm bells, he said.
“I’d send off a yellow flare,” Zandi said. “I wouldn’t send off more than one, and certainly wouldn’t [yet] send off a red flare.”

Broad disinflation appears to be over

The consumer price index, or CPI, measures how quickly prices rise or fall for a basket of goods and services, from haircuts to coffee, clothing and concert tickets.

CPI inflation has declined significantly from its pandemic-era high of 9.1% in June 2022.
However, it remains above the Federal Reserve’s target. The central bank aims for a 2% annual rate over the long term. To get there, economists say inflation readings from month to month should be around 0.2%.

“Inflation has now been around these rates for some time and clearly isn’t coming down decisively any more,” Paul Ashworth, chief North America economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a note Wednesday.
The apparent end to the broad period of disinflation in the U.S. is largely a function of the economy’s and labor market’s strength, putting businesses in a position to raise prices more aggressively, Zandi said.

‘The egg shock is enormous’

Price increases were “strong” almost across the board in January, in categories like groceries, gasoline, prescription drugs, vehicle insurance and repair, airline tickets, and hotel room rates, Zandi said. The only major category with a decline was apparel, he said.
Grocery prices jumped by 0.5% from December to January, up from a 0.3% monthly rise from November to December, according to the BLS.
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Egg prices soared by 15% just from December to January, according to the CPI data. They’re up 53% in the past year, largely due to supply shortages created by a deadly bird flu outbreak, economists said.
“The egg shock is enormous,” said Joe Seydl, senior markets economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank.
That shock filters through to other grocery items tied to eggs, such as baked goods, economists said.

There’s also a substitution effect: consumers may opt to switch to other proteins like beef if bird flu drives up the price of eggs and chicken, Seydl said.
Coffee prices have also strengthened amid climate-related issues in the world’s coffee-growing regions, Zandi said. The price of instant coffee, for example, is up about 7% in the past year, according to the CPI.
Gasoline prices rose about 2% from December to January, a reflection of higher oil prices. Fuel oil was up about 6% during the month.
Elevated prices for gasoline and diesel can filter through to other areas of the economy, like food, due to higher transport costs for distributors, economists said.

‘Through the worst’ of housing inflation

Inflation for both rent and “owners’ equivalent rent” (which measures the price at which a homeowner could rent their residence) stayed level for the month, at 0.3%.
Shelter inflation was 4.4% over the past year, the smallest 12-month increase since January 2022.
“We’re increasingly confident we’re through the worst of the shelter inflation,” Seydl said.

Tariffs would likely raise inflation

Meanwhile, Americans are bracing for potentially higher inflation amid expectations that Trump will impose broad tariffs on trading partners, which generally raise prices for consumers.
Economists expect Trump’s policy priorities like mass deportations and tax cuts would also be inflationary.
Deportations may limit labor supply at a time of low U.S. unemployment, putting upward pressure on wages, while tax cuts may fuel spending if consumers have more money, they said.

“We continue to believe that the Trump Administration’s trade, fiscal and immigration policy agenda would be mildly inflationary,” Bank of America economists wrote in a note Monday.
That inflationary impact would likely play out in the second half of 2025, though that timeline could move forward if additional tariffs take effect in the next few weeks, the note said.

Tariff threat already impacting auto prices

Tariffs already seem to be buoying prices for automobiles by boosting short-term demand, Seydl said.
The annual inflation rate for new vehicles has drifted upward since October, though remains low around 0%.
“The evidence is becoming much broader about consumers trying to purchase ahead of tariffs,” Seydl said. “I think it’s probably the biggest driver of auto inflation.”
Trump threatened to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, for example, as soon as next month. He also signed an order Monday that would impose 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum on March 4.

Most major automakers rely heavily on imports from other countries, including Mexico, to meet demand from U.S. consumers. Ford Motor CEO Jim Farley said Tuesday that Trump’s tariff policy is causing “chaos” for the U.S. auto industry.
For now, evidence suggests the behavior of consumers front-loading their purchases is “very concentrated” in the auto market, Seydl said.
But it could broaden to other categories like consumer electronics and appliances, for example, he said.
A 10% additional tariff on all imports from China took effect on Feb. 4. The bulk of what China exports to the U.S. is consumer goods such as apparel, toys and electronics.

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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been under a conservatorship with the Federal Housing Finance Agency since 2008.
The mortgage giants could be released into the private sector, meaning the government will sell its shares on the government-sponsored enterprises to private investors.
Here’s what that means for homebuyers and investors.

People walk by a sign for Freddie Mac headquarters on July 14, 2008 in McLean, Virginia. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Paul J. Richards | Afp | Getty Images

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the two giant mortgage finance firms controlled by the federal government for nearly 17 years — could be sold off into the private sector.
During President Donald Trump’s first term, the White House attempted to release the Federal National Mortgage Association, known as Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac, into the private market. It didn’t materialize because of the complexity, according to experts.

While Trump hasn’t talked about the idea to sell off the government’s shares into the private market, the topic is bubbling up now in Trump’s second term. It could lead to higher mortgage rates and risk for investors, experts warn.
In January, the Federal Housing Finance Agency and the Treasury Department agreed to amend the senior preferred stock purchase agreements between the Treasury and  and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, each government-sponsored enterprises, to ensure their eventual release from conservatorship.

What problem are we trying to fix?

Mark Zandi
chief economist at Moody’s Analytics

Experts are torn about how the release of the GSEs will be handled, when it will happen and if the government will continue to somewhat oversee the mortgage giants after-the-fact.
Ultimately, the release from the government-backing for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s will come down to what Trump prioritizes during his second term. And even then, there could be drawbacks, experts say.
“It really ultimately depends on what President Trump wants to do or not do,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

“Even then though, I think they’ll be repelled from actually getting it done because the economics will become apparent that this makes no sense,” Zandi added.
Here’s what to know. 

What the release could mean for homebuyers, investors

The potential impact will depend on the extent of the government’s support after Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are released, according to Andy Winkler, director of housing and infrastructure projects at the Bipartisan Policy Center. 
The Trump administration’s ability to navigate logistical, legal and economic hurdles will also be a factor, experts say. 
But “a lot could go wrong,” said Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and professor of finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
If not done well, mortgage rates could potentially climb higher, experts say. Zandi believes “it’s just a question of how much higher” rates would be.

It’s not something you can do with one signature on one agreement.

Susan Wachter
professor of real estate and professor of finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

If you invest in mortgage-backed securities or in Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac’s secured debt, the end of the conservatorship could bring on more risk, Zandi said.
“Therefore you will demand a higher interest rate to compensate for that risk, and therefore mortgage rates will be higher as well,” Zandi said.
Of course, higher rates means higher borrowing costs for mortgages.
While more people bought their homes in all-cash payments in 2024, most Americans still rely on mortgages to buy properties. 
According to a report by the National Association of Realtors, about 26% of homebuyers in the U.S. paid all-cash in 2024, a new high for the segment. To compare, the last record increase was 22% in 2022, up 9% from 2021, per data provided to CNBC.
However, roughly 74% of buyers financed their home purchase in 2024, NAR found. That’s down from 80% a year prior.
In Zandi’s view, any release scenario could affect all parties involved – except potentially Fannie and Freddie shareholders.
“They’re going to make money on the shares they own … That’s why they’re pushing for it,” he said.

Why Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are essential

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac buy existing home loans from mortgage lenders. The companies either keep or sell the loans as mortgage-backed securities to investors, creating a system where mortgage lenders have enough capital to continue offering loans.
“The 30-year fixed rate mortgage might not exist without them,” said Bipartisan Policy Center’s Winkler.
The two companies support around 70% of the mortgage market and remain vital to the housing system in the U.S., according to NAR.
The two were created by Congress in order to make homeownership accessible and make the 30-year fixed rate mortgage “the bread and butter” of the U.S., Zandi said.
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been under a conservatorship with the FHFA since 2008, after the mortgage giants nearly collapsed during the financial crisis. The agreement was done to help the two government-sponsored enterprises recover from the housing market crash.
The Department of the Treasury has financially supported the two companies through senior preferred stock purchase agreements, or SPSPAs, helping them remain solvent.
The mortgages that were being created leading up to the financial crisis were complex, risky, and untraced, Wachter said. The risk was able to build up overtime. 

To be sure, such risky loans were coming from the private sector’s private label mortgage-backed securities, she said. When the market imploded, causing trillions of dollars worth of lending to evaporate within a year, the GSEs were caught in the crossfires.
“The private-label mortgage-backed securities, risky loans, brought on the crisis, but every mortgage player was hit,” Wachter said.
With Fannie and Freddie being the two largest mortgage institutions, the government intervened and bailed the enterprises in 2008 to avoid further damage to the housing market.
Fannie and Freddie became explicitly backed by the government and steps were taken to de-risk them as well as limit the exposure to taxpayers under the conservatorship, Winkler said. 
Under government control, the GSEs don’t operate as fully private companies: they have limited ability to retain profits, strict oversight and a primary goal to maintain the housing market stable over maximizing profits, he said. 

What are the odds of the conservatorship ending? 

While Trump himself has yet to mention the conservatorship, others are talking about it.
Scott Turner, the new secretary of Housing and Urban Development, mentioned in an interview published on Feb. 5 with the Wall Street Journal that making the effort to release Fannie and Freddie would be a priority.
Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman posted on X in December that “a successful emergence from Fannie and Freddie should generate $300 billion of additional profits to the government” while removing about $8 trillion of liabilities from the government’s balance sheet.

Even if the administration prioritizes the conservatorship, the process itself could take years to complete, experts say. 
“It’s not something you can do with one signature on one agreement,” Wachter said. The process involves multiple parties, including the Treasury, the Department of Justice, FHFA and shareholders in the private sector.
However, if “based on the economics of it all, there should be no chance that they get released administratively,” Zandi said. “It doesn’t make any economic sense.” 
“A release is a lose-lose for taxpayers, homebuyers, the housing market, the economy, everybody is worse off than the status quo.” Zandi said. “What problem are we trying to fix?”  More

According to a recent survey, 1 in 3 adults are struggling with layoff anxiety. 
In many ways, workers are still recovering from the shock of the pandemic, experts say.
There are ways to conquer that mindset, however, starting with solid financial preparation and making the most of the resources available to you.

In many ways, workers are still reeling from the pandemic.
After a tumultuous few years, worrying about what will come next is causing more employees to suffer from so-called layoff anxiety.

According to Clarify Capital’s 2025 survey of 1,000 Americans, 1 in 3 adults have layoff anxiety. It’s especially impacting younger workers: among Generation Z, the share with layoff anxiety jumps to 40%. 
“Despite a strong job market, economic uncertainty and high-profile layoffs are fueling widespread anxiety,” said Michael Baynes, co-founder and CEO of Clarify Capital.
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This worry is also shaping how employees view their jobs, the report found. More than two-thirds of workers now value job security over career growth, and nearly 1 in 3 would take a 10% to 20% pay cut to avoid being laid off.
“Job stability, rather than job availability, is the major cause of workplace stress today,” Baynes said.

In another survey from ZipRecruiter on job seeker confidence, most workers said there was about a 25% chance they would be laid off in the next six months — even though the actual share of people being laid off each month is much smaller than that, according to Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter. In December, the number of layoffs totaled just 1.8 million, according to the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.
“That suggests quite a high degree of layoff anxiety,” she said. 

Why workers are worried

Workers are still recovering from the shock of the Covid pandemic, according to Pollak. Between March and April of 2020, “22 million workers were laid off,” she said, that was a “recent and jarring experience.”
In fact, the U.S. job market has undergone a dramatic transformation since then.
After the pandemic, employers rushed to hire. Job openings rose to historic levels, unemployment fell to its lowest point since the late 1960s and wages grew at their fastest pace in decades. Ultimately the pace of hiring slowed but, layoffs have remained low by historical standards.

As of the most recent tally, the labor market is strong although overall job growth is showing signs of slowing.
“At a time of high uncertainty and volatility, the job market is providing some reassurance, at least for now,” said Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst.
The quits rate is another important indicator of job seeker confidence, according to Allison Shrivastava, an economist at job site Indeed.
“Workers tend to feel more comfortable quitting when they are confident in their ability to find another job,” she said.

After rising dramatically during the “great resignation” between 2021 and 2022, the quits rate declined along with the pullback in hiring and job openings. In September, the quits rate hit a low and now stands at just 2%.
“Anytime you have a shock to the labor market, it’s going to take some time for that dust to settle,” Shrivastava said of the mood among workers. 
Still, “there are reasons to be optimistic right now — so much has happened in such a short period of time, it’s remarkable we still have a strong labor market foundation,” she said.
“Whether or not you have this anxiety over layoffs would be contingent on what sector you are in as well,” Shrivastava said.
Health care and retail were among some of the bright spots in the most recent jobs report, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while professional and business services and leisure and hospitality showed signs of weakness. 

How to conquer layoff anxiety

“If you think there’s a chance that you will be laid off, you can either be frozen by fear or focused by fear,” said Ivan Misner, founder of business networking organization BNI. “It’s a framing of the mindset that makes a difference,” he said.
“Layoff anxiety is inevitable, everyone is going to have it, the question is what are you going to do with it,” Misner said.
Transparency plays a crucial role in combating layoff anxiety, according to Clarify Capital’s Baynes.
“Workers who feel informed about their company’s financial health and restructuring plans tend to experience lower anxiety levels,” he said.

Employees can — and should — make use of any resources that employers provide, such as outplacement services and resume building, Misner said, as well as connecting with business contacts.
“A really strong network can increase your chances of securing new roles quickly,” he said. “Referrals are very powerful when it comes to looking for jobs.”
Career adaptability is also key, Baynes added. Given continuing education courses, online classes, certification programs and boot camps, there are more opportunities for workers to ramp up their expertise to stay competitive.
Tending to their own financial health is equally important. “Managing layoff anxiety starts with financial preparation — building savings and reducing debt can provide a critical safety net,” Baynes said.

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Enduring a wildfire or any other natural disaster can be emotionally and financially overwhelming.
Taking specific steps can help you regain control of your finances and better prepare for future emergencies.

An aerial view of homes destroyed in the Palisades Fire on January 27, 2025 in Pacific Palisades, California. 
Mario Tama | Getty Images

When the Los Angeles wildfires started dominating social media feeds, I reached out to a dear friend and client to check in. “We just found out an hour ago, our house is gone,” he replied.
Enduring a wildfire or any other natural disaster can be emotionally and financially overwhelming.

Here in Southern California, many of our clients and community are displaced and in shock by what the flames have taken. Families are trying to navigate the insurance red tape, worrying about where they will live and trying to make difficult decisions — such as if they can afford to rebuild or if they need to absorb the losses and move on.

More from CNBC’s Advisor Council

While rebuilding or restoring stability is challenging, taking specific steps can help you regain control of your finances and better prepare for future emergencies:

1. Ensure your safety and apply for disaster aid

Register for assistance immediately. The Red Cross and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, provide help including temporary shelter, emergency financial assistance and emotional support. Apply for disaster relief at disasterassistance.gov, and see if your state has wildfire or disaster-specific aid programs.

2. Assess your financial situation

Take inventory of accessible financial resources, including savings accounts, emergency funds or credit card limits for immediate needs. List financial obligations — such as rent, mortgages and utility bills — and begin looking into payment deferral options.

The Hughes Fire grows near Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park and the community of Santa Clarita on January 22, 2025 in Castaic, California. 
David Mcnew | Getty Images

3. Adjust spending and budgeting

If you work with a financial advisor, let them know what has transpired. We’ve had clients recently tell us they’ve lost their homes and had to evacuate, and we are putting notations on their accounts and discussing short-term liquidity/income needs.

Use free budgeting tools to track spending.
Prioritize spending on essentials such as food, water, housing, and medication. Cancel subscriptions, defer large purchases and cut non-essential expenses to preserve cash flow.

Consider temporarily reducing the amount of money you are saving for retirement in order to build a bigger financial cushion to help you now. 
Contact utility companies, credit card issuers and other lenders to let them know your situation and negotiate payment plans or request hardship assistance. Many companies offer disaster forbearance programs that allow you to defer payments without penalty.

4. Protect your credit

If personal documents such as Social Security cards are lost or stolen after a disaster, freeze your credit at all three major credit rating agencies. You can always unfreeze your credit  once the crisis has passed if you need to borrow.
Also freeze any credit cards not in your possession. In many cases, you can do this easily in the card issuer’s app or online. It’s always a good idea to set up push notifications of any charges that occur. This way you can make sure all the charges are true and yours.

5. Begin the insurance claims process

Insurance claims may take weeks or months to process, so the sooner you get started, the better. 
Request “additional living expenses,” or ALE, coverage to pay for temporary housing, meals and other expenses.
Make a detailed list of damaged or lost items with photos and receipts (if available), and estimated replacement costs. This will support insurance claims.
Document communications with your insurer. If you believe your insurer has undervalued your claim, consider hiring a licensed public adjuster to negotiate on your behalf.
— By Winnie Sun, co-founder and managing director of Irvine, California-based Sun Group Wealth Partners. She is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. More

The home office deduction allows some filers to claim a tax break for expenses incurred working remotely.
If you were a W-2 employee in 2024 — meaning your company withholds taxes from your paycheck — you can’t claim a deduction for home office costs.
But you may be able to take the tax break if you were a freelancer, contractor or self-employed worker, assuming you used the space “regularly and exclusively” for business, according to the IRS.

Coroimage | Moment | Getty Images

If you worked remotely in 2024, you may be eyeing the home office deduction. However, qualifying for the tax break may be harder than you expect, experts say. 
Only 7% of companies allowed fully remote work in 2024, down from 21% in 2023, according to a ZipRecruiter survey that polled 2,000 employers in September and October. But 40% of companies support hybrid work arrangements, the survey found. 

However, if you’re a W-2 employee — meaning your company withholds taxes from your paycheck — you can’t claim a tax break for 2024 home office expenses, according to certified financial planner Malcolm Ethridge, founder and managing partner at Capital Area Planning Group.
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Before 2018, W-2 employees could claim certain unreimbursed work-related costs, including home office expenses, via “miscellaneous itemized deductions.” But that tax break was eliminated through 2025 via President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.
For 2024, you could still be eligible for the home office tax deduction with contract or self-employed work, whether you rent or own your home, said Ethridge, who is also an enrolled agent.
To qualify, you must have a dedicated space used “regularly and exclusively” for business, according to the IRS. The space could be part of your home, such as a separate room, or another structure on the property.

How to calculate the home office deduction

There are two ways to calculate the home office deduction: the “regular method” and the “simplified option,” according to the IRS.
The “simplified option” is a flat rate of $5 per square foot of the part of the home used, up to 300 square feet, for a maximum of $1,500.
By contrast, the “regular method” deducts actual expenses based on the percentage of your home used, such as part of your mortgage interest, insurance, utilities and repairs. This could also include depreciation, which subtracts a portion of your home’s value over time.

While it’s more complicated, the regular method can lead to “pretty substantial savings” in some cases, said CFP Neil Krishnaswamy, president of Krishna Wealth Planning in McKinney, Texas.
However, if you use the regular method, you could face “depreciation recapture” when you later sell your home for a profit, Ethridge said. This can trigger taxes on the depreciation previously claimed or that could have been claimed, which can be a “nightmare,” he said.
Regardless of whether you use the simplified option or the regular method, record-keeping is important, experts say. Otherwise, the deduction could be disallowed following an IRS audit. More