Global| May 05 2010Challenger Layoffs Reach Cycle Low
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The outplacement firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that the level of layoffs fell last month to 38,326. It was the lowest level since mid-2006 and remained well under the cycle-high of 241,748 in January of last year. The [...]
The outplacement firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that the level of layoffs fell last month to 38,326. It was the lowest level since mid-2006 and remained well under the cycle-high of 241,748 in January of last year. The decline was led by sharply lower layoffs in the government, computer, energy, entertainment, and retail industries. An increased level of layoffs occurred in the construction, financial, health care and utility industries.
Challenger also samples firms' hiring plans. April plans increased for the second month consecutive month to the highest level since 2005. They rose in the transportation, consumer goods, health care and financial industries though most elsewhere they fell.
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 in 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 | April | March | February | Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 38,326 | 67,611 | 42,090 | -71.1% | 1,288,030 | 1,223,993 | 768,264 |
| Announced Hiring Plans | 15,654 | 13,994 | 8,300 | -42.2% | 272,573 | 118,600 | 365,583 |
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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