Global| May 06 2009Challenger Layoffs Also Show Job Market Improvement
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
For April, the outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas indicated that cut announcements eased for the third month. The announcement of 132,590 layoffs followed 150,411 during March and both of the figures were down from the [...]
For April, the outplacement firm of Challenger, Grey & Christmas indicated that cut announcements eased for the third month. The announcement of 132,590 layoffs followed 150,411 during March and both of the figures were down from the cycle high of 241,749 reached in January. Challenger also reported that announced hiring plans rose to the highest level since early-2007.
Announcement of job cuts in the pharmaceutical industry dropped sharply to 1,671 after their record March surge. Announcements in the electronics industry also halved their March jump and in the retail industry job cuts showed the third month of moderation and the number of jobs fell to a modest 2,927. Finally, the computer industry shed just 1,702 jobs which was the least since August of last year and cuts in the financial business fell to 6,645.
Picking up some steam were job cut announcements in the automotive sector which rose to 24,172 after easing during March. Also there was a pickup in layoffs in the industrial goods sector where there were 18,636 announcements. Employment cutbacks in the insurance industry also rose as there were 1,330 which was up sharply from the prior two months.
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 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 | Y/Y | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announced Job Cuts | 132,590 | 150,411 | 47.3% | 1,223,993 | 768,264 | 839,822 |
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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