Global| Jan 06 2011U.S. Challenger Layoffs Lowest In Ten Years
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that the level of layoffs during December fell sharply to 32,004. The level was the lowest since June 2000. For the full year, planned layoffs totaled 529,973, down 58.9% [...]
The outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas reported that the
level of layoffs during December fell sharply to 32,004. The level was the lowest
since June 2000. For the full year, planned layoffs totaled 529,973, down 58.9%
from 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 fell in the aerospace (-17.0% y/y), chemical (-65.1% y/y), consumer goods (+41.9% y/y), entertainment/leisure (+806.2% y/y), government (-41.7% y/y), insurance (-19.9% y/y), pharmaceutical, services (+24.5% y/y) and telecommunication (-100.0% y/y) industries. Layoffs rose elsewhere. 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 which again fell sharply last month to just 10,575. Plans fell hardest in entertainment/leisure (-50.0% y/y), financial (-100.0% y/y), health care, industrial goods (33.3% y/y), retail (1,900% y/y) and services.
The Challenger figures are available in Haver's SURVEYS database.
| Challenger, Gray & Christmas | Dec | Nov | Oct | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 32,004 | 48,711 | 37,986 | -29.0% | 529,973 | 1,288,030 | 1,223,993 |
| Announced Hiring Plans | 10,575 | 26,012 | 124,766 | -70.3% | 402,638 | 272,573 | 118,600 |
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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