Job Cuts Up 42 Percent From December
02/04/2003 12:28:30 EST
Job cuts announced by U.S. corporations in January increased 42 percent from December, led by the retail, commodities and transportation sectors, the outplacement firm of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said Tuesday.
The report suggested that many businesses are laying off workers as they continue to cut costs and reduce debt. Many companies also have stopped hiring because of uncertainty about a potential war in Iraq, the firm said.
Announced job cuts for January totaled 132,222 compared with 92,917 in December, Challenger said.
The job cuts were led by the retail sector, which saw 44,087 layoff announcements, followed by commodities companies, with 10,241, and transportation concerns, with 9,958. Telecommunications companies, which have led losses for much of the past year, showed some improvement, with cuts in that field falling to 7,265 - the second lowest level in 25 months.
The report said that in the past six months, companies have announced plans to cut 746,781 workers - a figure larger than the annual totals for 12 of the last 14 years.
"Even if businesses were in a position to hire, many would probably delay such action in light of the uncertainty surrounding Iraq. The threat of war is perhaps the greatest obstacle to economic recovery, as companies simply lie in wait for a definitive indication on whether we will go to war," said John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The report is an anecdotal, non-statistical tally of job-cut announcements that are reported in major media outlets. The report focuses only on job-cut announcements, not actual layoffs, and it doesn't take into account new hires or internal transfers at companies that have announced layoffs.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracks layoff announcements and releases its Challenger Employment report monthly. |
