Global| Apr 03 2014Challenger Job Cut Announcements Decline to Three-Month Low
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that job cut announcements declined to 34,399 (-30.2% y/y) during March, the lowest level since December. Layoffs fell m/m in the financial, food, telecommunications, [...]
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that job cut announcements declined to 34,399 (-30.2% y/y) during March, the lowest level since December. Layoffs fell m/m in the financial, food, telecommunications, retail, electronics, apparel, aerospace/defense, consumer products, insurance, media and pharmaceutical industries. An increase in announcements occurred in the health care, computer, automotive, commodities, education, energy, services and transportation industries. During the last ten years there has been a 62% correlation between the level of job cut announcements and the m/m change in payroll employment.
Challenger also samples firms' hiring plans. They fell sharply to 6,860 (-15.5% y/y) due to less hiring in the industrial goods, retail, health care, computer, construction, electronics and financial industries. Hiring plans improved in the energy, aerospace/defense, automotive, education, food, insurance and telecommunications industries.
The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | Mar | Feb | Jan | Y/Y % | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 34,399 | 41,835 | 45,017 | -30.2 | 509,051 | 523,362 | 606,082 |
| Announced Hiring Plans | 6,860 | 11,054 | 6,312 | -15.5 | 764,206 | 630,447 | 537,572 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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