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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 June 4, 2008
During May, job cut announcements continued to rise according to the Challenger, Grey & Christmas survey. A 15% increase from April to 103,522 pulled the level to its highest since December 2005. Since December announcements have more than doubled and the three-month average of announcements were at the highest level since 2006.
A rise in the three-month average of job cut announcements in services, financial and automotive sectors led the recent rise.
During the last ten years there has been a 76% (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 fell by more than one-third and reversed an April gain.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | May | April | Y/Y | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 103,522 | 90,015 | 45.6% | 768,264 | 839,822 | 1,072,054 |
