Global| Jan 03 2013Challenger Job Cuts Near Recovery Low
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The number of layoffs fell for the holidays. The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that 32,556 job cuts were announced during December. The latest level was nearly the lowest for the economic recovery and [...]
The number of layoffs fell for the holidays. The outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that 32,556 job cuts were announced during December. The latest level was nearly the lowest for the economic recovery and more-than-reversed the November rise. Job cut announcements fell most sharply in the health care, electronics and computer industries. They also were down in the aerospace/defense, apparel, automotive, chemical, commodities, education, entertainment /leisure, government, food, energy and retail industries. Layoffs rose in the financial and consumer products industries. During the last ten years there has been a 67% correlation between the three-month moving average of announced job cuts and the three-month change in payroll employment. Job cut announcements differ from layoffs. Many are achieved through attrition, early retirement or just never occur.
Challenger also samples firms' hiring plans and the increase moderated after sharp gains in the health care, retail and financial sectors. The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
Monetary Policy and Interest Rate Uncertainty from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco can be found here.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | Dec | Nov | Oct | Y/Y% | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 32,556 | 57,081 | 47,724 | 22.1 | 523,362 | 606,082 | 529,973 |
| Announced Hiring Plans | 16,266 | 28,526 | 75,065 | 15.6 | 630,447 | 537,572 | 402,638 |
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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