Global| Aug 04 2010Challenger Layoffs Rise And Hiring Plans Fall, Both For The Third Month
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
According to the outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas the level of layoffs during July rose slightly to 41,676, the third increase in as many months. Despite the latest upward drift in layoffs, the level remains down by [...]
According to the outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas the
level of layoffs during July rose slightly to 41,676, the third increase in as
many months. Despite the latest upward drift in layoffs, the level remains down
by more than one-half from last year and just slightly above the lowest level
since 2000. Planned layoffs announced during the first seven months of 2010
totaled 339,353, down two-thirds from the 994,048 announced during the first
seven months of 2009. Despite the recent decline
in layoffs, the unemployment rate from the Census Department remains high as the
number of long-term unemployed has surged.
Layoffs rose in July in the consumer goods, electronics, financial, food, health care, insurance, and transportation industries. 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.
Challenger also samples firms' hiring plans and July plans fell to the lowest level since May, 2009. Versus July '09 plans fell 52.6%. Plans picked during July in the auto, computer, industrial goods and transportation industries but fell sharply in construction, consumer goods and foods.
The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | July | June | May | Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 41,676 | 39,358 | 38,810 | -57.2% | 1,288,030 | 1,223,993 | 768,264 |
| Announced Hiring Plans | 8,151 | 11,732 | 14,922 | -52.6% | 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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