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Economy in Brief
Canadian Retail Sales Weaken As Inflation Slows
Canada's retail sales show relatively widespread deceleration...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Strengthen
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators increased 0.5% (7.0% y/y) during September...
Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Growth Continues; Pricing Pressure Eases
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index dipped to 22.2 during October...
U.S. Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Ease
Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell to 210,000 (-8.7% y/y) during the week ended October 13...
U.K. Retail Sales: Doing Well-As-Can-Be-Expected Despite September Drop
U.K. retail sales and growth have all held up remarkably well- so far...
by Tom Moeller June 2, 2005
Job cut announcements jumped in May, however, the 42.2% m/m rise did not reverse all of the prior month's plunge. Therefore, the three month average of job cut announcements fell further to the lowest level since last August.
During the last ten years there has been an 84% (inverse) correlation between the three month moving average of announced job cuts and the three month change payroll employment.
Job cut announcements rose sharply m/m in the apparel (+234% y/y), computer (496% y/y) and insurance (321% y/y) industries but fell broadly elsewhere.
Job cut announcements differ from layoffs. Many are achieved through attrition, early retirement or just never occur.
Challenger also reported that announced hiring plans fell for the second month in the last three.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | May | April | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 82,283 | 57,861 | 12.2% | 1,039,175 | 1,236,426 | 1,431,052 |
