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Economy in Brief
Philadelphia Fed Factory Conditions Plunge
The Philadelphia Fed reported that its General Factory Sector Business Conditions Index retreated to 19.9 during June...
U.S. FHFA House Price Index Improves Minimally
The FHFA U.S. house price index nudged 0.1% higher (6.4% y/y) during April...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Down Slightly
Initial claims for unemployment insurance were 218,000 during the week ended June 16...
U.S. Existing Home Sales Decline While Prices Rise
The NAR U.S. existing home sales fell 0.4% (-3.0% y/y) during May to 5.430 million units (AR)...
U.S. Current Account Deficit Widens
The U.S. current account deficit rose to $124.1 billion during Q1 2018...
by Tom Moeller December 5, 2007
Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that job cut announcements in November picked up slightly to 73,140 from 63,114 during October. The number of job cut announcements has moved roughly sideways this year at a level reduced from prior years.
Job cut announcements rose sharply m/m in the auto industry (-5.8% y/y) and energy (637.2% y/y) but showed little up or down movement in most others.
During the last ten years there has been a 79% (inverse) correlation between the three month moving average of announced job cuts and the three month change payroll employment.
Job cut announcements differ from layoffs. Many are achieved through attrition, early retirement or just never occur.
Challenger also reported that announced hiring plans were roughly stable with the prior three months.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | November | October | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 73,140 | 63,114 | -4.7% | 839,822 | 1,072,054 | 1,039,935 |
