Global| Jun 03 2009Challenger Layoffs Continue To Indicate Job Market Improvement
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas indicated that job cut announcements eased for the fourth consecutive month. The announcement of 111,182 layoffs followed 132,590 during April. This cycle's largest layoff total [...]
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas indicated that job cut announcements eased for the fourth consecutive month. The announcement of 111,182 layoffs followed 132,590 during April. This cycle's largest layoff total occurred in January when there were 241,749 cuts. Challenger also reported, however, that announced hiring plans fell sharply after their jump during April.
Announcement of job cuts in the pharmaceutical industry fell even further after the sharp April decline to 698. Announcements in the retail industry also fell for the fourth consecutive month while job cuts in the real estate industry evaporated. Cuts in the retail industry fell as did cuts in the insurance and in the industrial goods sectors.
Picking up some steam were job cut announcements in the computer and in the construction sectors. The health care sector job cut announcements rose sharply.
During the last ten years there has been a 67% (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.
The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | May | April | Y/Y | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 111,182 | 132,590 | 7.4% | 1,223,993 | 768,264 | 839,822 |
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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