Global| Apr 02 2015Challenger Job Cut Announcements Fall Sharply
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that job cut announcements during March declined to 36,595 (+6.4% y/y) following a fall to 50,579 in February. Layoffs fell m/m in the aerospace/defense, computer, energy, [...]
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that job cut announcements during March declined to 36,595 (+6.4% y/y) following a fall to 50,579 in February. Layoffs fell m/m in the aerospace/defense, computer, energy, entertainment/leisure, financial, government, insurance, real estate, retail, services, telecommunications, transportation and utility industries. Layoffs rose in the apparel, automotive, consumer products, education, electronics, food, health care, industrial goods, legal, media and pharmaceutical industries.
During the last ten years there has been a 68% correlation between the level of job cut announcements and the m/m change in payroll employment.
Challenger also samples firms' hiring plans. Hiring decreased last month to 6,412 (-6.5% y/y) from 14,574 in February. Jobs rose in the aerospace/defense, chemical, consumer products, energy, food, pharmaceutical, retail, services and telecommunications industries. Hiring declined in the automotive, construction, financial, government, health care, industrial goods, medias and transportation industries.
The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
|
Challenger, Gray & Christmas |
Mar | Feb | Jan | Y/Y % | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Announced Job Cuts |
36,594 | 50,579 | 53,041 | 6.4 | 483,171 | 509,051 | 523,362 |
|
Announced Hiring Plans |
6,412 | 14,574 | 8,774 | -6.5 | 821,506 | 764,206 | 630,447 |
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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