December layoffs drop, a sign of recovery
Employers in the United States announced fewer job cuts in December as the economy emerged from the deepest contraction since the 1930s, a private survey released yesterday showed.
Employers in the United States announced fewer job cuts in December as the economy emerged from the deepest contraction since the 1930s, a private survey released yesterday showed.
Layoffs announced by companies declined 73 percent in December, to 45,094 from 166,348 a year earlier, according to data collected by the Chicago job-placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
Last month's cuts were down 10 percent from November and were the fifth straight monthly decrease.
Companies are shedding fewer workers as demand picks up and the economy recovers from a recession.
"We turned a corner, and now, as we begin 2010, there are promising signs of continued improvement," John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the Chicago-based firm, said in a statement.
The Challenger report also showed companies in December announced plans to hire 35,592 workers, up from 10,083 a year earlier.
Even with the fall in planned layoffs, the total for all of 2009 came to 1,288,030, the most since 2002 - as the nation was emerging from the recession of 2001. The labor market tends to trail economic recoveries as employers wait to see if the rebound will be sustained.
The economy has lost 7.2 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007, the most of any economic contraction since the Great Depression. The unemployment rate reached 10.2 percent in October, the highest in 26 years. The rate was at 10.0 percent in November; the December figure is scheduled to be released by the government tomorrow.
A separate report yesterday said U.S. companies cut an estimated 84,000 jobs in December, the smallest number since March 2008. That was larger than forecast and compares with a revised 145,000 decline the prior month, the survey by ADP Employer Services showed.
Planned Layoffs
Annual total of layoffs announced by U.S. companies.
Year Layoffs
1999 675,132
2000 613,960
2001 1,956,876
2002 1,466,823
2003 1,236,426
2004 1,039,735
2005 1,072,054
2006 839,822
2007 768,264
2008 1,223,993
2009 1,288,030
SOURCE: Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.EndText