Global| Jan 05 2012Challenger Reports Fewer Job Cuts
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that job cut announcements during December slipped to a six-month low of 41,785 from November's 42,474. The latest figure was the lowest since June. The low level of [...]
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that job cut announcements during December slipped to a six-month low of 41,785 from November's 42,474. The latest figure was the lowest since June. The low level of announcements reflected far fewer cuts in the computer, energy, entertainment/leisure, food, government & utility industries. Increases were logged by the apparel, automotive, chemical, electronics, financial, health care and industrial goods industries. For all of 2011, howerer, job cut announcements rose.
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 which fell sharply to 14,074. Hiring fell again in the automotive, computer, financial and industrial goods industries.
The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | Dec | Nov | Oct | Y/Y% | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 41,785 | 42,474 | 42,759 | 30.6 | 606,082 | 529,973 | 1,288,030 |
| Announced Hiring Plans | 14,074 | 63,527 | 159,177 | 33.1 | 537,572 | 402,638 | 272,573 |
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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