The number of U.S. chief executive officers who lost or left their jobs in March tumbled by 27% month over month, from 128 in February to 94. The March total is 30% lower than a year ago and is the lowest monthly total in 20 months.

For the first three months of 2020, 441 CEOs have left their positions, up by 6% compared with the first quarter of last year. The total is the second-highest since outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas began keeping records in 2002. In the fourth quarter of 2019, CEO departures posted an all-time high of 480 in the first quarter.

In all of last year, 1,640 CEOs left their jobs, a jump of nearly 13% from the prior year’s total of 1,452. Of the 2019 total, three were due to allegations of sexual misconduct. In 2018, 11 CEOs left their jobs following allegations of sexual misconduct.

Vice President Andrew Challenger noted: “The COVID-19 outbreak has put the brakes on the economy in many ways. As millions file for unemployment, companies grapple with conducting permanent layoffs or furloughs and some are considering shutting down operations temporarily or even closing entirely.”

Challenger added: “The $2 trillion stimulus package currently being distributed includes help for small and mid-size businesses, and many companies are still in wait-and-see mode before implementing drastic changes. In fact, we have seen some CEOs postpone resignations and retirements during this period.”

Of the CEOs who departed in March, 18 retired and six found new opportunities. According to Challenger data, the most frequent reason for a CEO departure in March was stepping down into a different role within the same company. A total of 22 CEOs stepped down last month.

The average age of a departing CEO in March was 53.0 years, compared to an average age of 57.6 among 2019’s departing chiefs. The average tenure of these CEOs was 10.0 years last month, compared with 11.2 years in March 2019.

The number of departing CEOs who were replaced by outsiders in the first three months of 2020 was 209. In 2019, the full-year total was 784. By gender, 62 women have replaced men in the top job while 37 men have replaced women and 32 women have replaced other women. Men have replaced men 261 times in the first quarter of the year, and 24% of all new CEOs named in the first quarter were women.

The hospital sector experienced 13 CEO changes in March, up from 12 in the same month a year ago. So far this year, 38 CEOs in the sector have left their jobs.

Andrew Challenger commented on the hospital sector: “CEOs of Hospitals and Hospital systems are truly being tested right now. Many are losing money due to the need to cancel elective procedures that typically propel these entities into the black at a time when cost-cutting would only hurt communities, patients, and health professionals.”

Challenger also noted that 141,844 of the announced job cuts due to COVID-19, 83,234 were at companies in the entertainment and leisure sector. In this sector, there have been 28 CEO exits so far this year, up 87% from the 15 who left their posts in the first quarter of 2019.

In the technology industry, seven CEOs left their positions last month, compared with 11 in March of 2019 and 16 in February. For the year to date, CEO departures in the industry have risen by 71% compared to last year.

According to the report, just two CEOs were terminated in March, while scandals forced out two more in the month.

California companies saw the highest number of CEO changes last month with 17. For the year to date, 65 California CEOs have left their jobs, up from 50 in the same period of last year. Companies in Florida saw nine CEO departures last month, while Texas reported eight changes.

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