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Economy in Brief
U.S. International Trade Collapses in April; Deficit Widens
Trade deficit widens to $69.7 billion...
U.S. Chicago Business Barometer Weakens Further During May
Chicago PMI fell to lowest level since March 1982...
Euro Area EU Indexes Have Minor Bounce
A slug of economic data hit the tape at the end of month...
Durable Goods Orders Collapsed Further in April
Durable goods orders collapsed 17.2% m/m in April...
U.S. Pending Home Sales Plunge to Record Low
Pending home sales fell 21.8% in April...
by Tom Moeller August 3, 2005
Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that job cut announcements fell 7.2% in July to 102,971 but that followed sharp gains both in May (42.2%) and June (34.9%). The three month average of job cut announcements rose to the highest level (98,750) since February.
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 in the automotive industry fell sharply after increasing ten-fold in June. Job cuts also fell in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries but increases were quite strong in the financial, insurance, electronics and computer industries.
Job cut announcements differ from layoffs. Many are achieved through attrition, early retirement or just never occur.
Challenger also reported that announced hiring plans rose (1.1% y/y).
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | July | June | Y/Y | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 102,971 | 110,996 | 48.0% | 1,039,175 | 1,236,426 | 1,431,052 |
