Global| Nov 03 2010U.S. Challenger Layoffs Again Rise Just Slightly While Hiring Plans Jump
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas indicated that the level of layoffs during October increased slightly to 37,986 but that remained near the smallest number since June of 2000. The level remains down by more than [...]
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas indicated that the
level of layoffs during October increased slightly to 37,986 but that remained
near the smallest number since June of 2000. The level remains down by more than
one-half from last year. Planned layoffs announced during the first nine months
of 2010 totaled 449,258, down two-thirds from 1,192,587 announced during the
first ten months of 2009. Despite the decline in layoffs, the unemployment rate
from the Census Department remains high as the number of long-term unemployed
has surged.
Layoffs rose in October in the chemical, computer, aerospace & defense, automotive, construction, consumer goods, entertainment/leisure, health care, insurance, retail and services industries. Layoffs fell in pharmaceutical, government, industrial goods, electronics, energy, financial, food, industrial goods and media. 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 they jumped last month by 124,766. Plans rose strongly in the energy, financial and services industries but fell sharply in retail.
The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | Oct. | Sept. | Aug. | Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 37,986 | 37,151 | 34,768 | -31.8% | 1,288,030 | 1,223,993 | 768,264 |
| Announced Hiring Plans | 124,766 | 123,076 | 14,075 | 116.9% | 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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