U.S. Job Cuts Surge 125 Percent in Oct.-Challenger

Reuters ^ | 11-04-03

[Brian S]

Tue November 4, 2003 10:33 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of job cuts announced by U.S. employers surged 125 percent in October, after declining for two months, calling into question the strength of the recovery in the job market.

Planned layoffs at U.S. firms shot up to 171,874 jobs in October, from 76,506 in September, job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Tuesday. Announced layoffs were at their highest since Oct. 2002, when 176,010 job cuts were announced.

"With factors like technology, outsourcing, and consolidation working against job creation, any job market rebound we see in the near future will be relatively small," said John Challenger, chief executive at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement.

Some analysts were heartened by the September employment report, which showed payroll numbers rose by 57,000. In addition, last week the number of initial jobless claims fell to 386,000, the fourth straight week that claims were under 400,000, which economists consider as a critical level for the labor market.

Even yesterday's manufacturing report from the Institute for Supply Management said the pace of factory job cuts was slowing.

Analysts are eagerly awaiting Friday's report on the employment situation. According to a Reuters poll, economists on average forecasted payrolls increased by 55,000.

[Lance Romance]

Who? Reuters had to rely on the word of one outsource placement firm. Pretty weak.

[cajungirl]

I swear, if Reuters had to lay off a drunken go fer for going naked around the office, they would write a story on the joblessness and Bush's poor election chances because of it.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

My business is up almost 20% and I have increased staff.

[ScreenName1]

August 24, 2003

More On The Trade Wars
By Paul Craig Roberts

The collapse of world socialism has made vast pools of cheap and willing labor in Asia and Mexico available to US capital and technology. The Internet has made the physical location of employees unimportant for many knowledge and Information Technology jobs. The Internet, out-sourcing, and offshore production for the home market allow US firms to substitute cheap foreign labor for expensive US labor in their production functions.
__________________________________________________________

This little excerpt says a lot about why this is a jobless recovery. I wish it were not so.

[Brian S]

"Who? Reuters had to rely on the word of one outsource placement firm. Pretty weak. "



So did Associated Press...

---

Outplacement firm: October job cuts spike


NEW YORK - A new report says job cuts last month rose 125 percent over the previous month.
The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas says employers announced plans in October to trim nearly 172-thousand jobs, marking the highest monthly figure since a year ago.

For the third straight year, planned job cuts have topped the $1 million mark. CEO John Challenger says the increase follows the trend in recent years of "heavy year-end downsizing." He says technology and outsourcing are among factors working against job creation, likely restraining any rebound in the near-future.

This Friday, the Labor Department releases the monthly employment report. Analysts are looking for a modest increase in payrolls.

On the Net:


www.challengergray.com
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

---

AND CNN/MONEY

Job-cut announcements jump

U.S. companies set 172,000 job cuts last month, the highest in a year, outplacement firm says.
November 4, 2003: 10:13 AM EST



NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - U.S. job-cut announcements rose in October to their highest level in a year, according to a report Tuesday by an outplacement firm that keeps track of job cuts.

U.S. businesses announced 171,874 job cuts in October, up 125 percent from September's level of 76,506, according to Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas. It was the greatest number of job cuts since 176,010 in October 2002.


Challenger CEO John Challenger noted that October has in recent years become one of the worst job-cutting months of the year, since it's a time when many companies are finalizing budgets and plans for the following year.

Nevertheless, Challenger said he doubted new jobs would be quick in coming.

"With factors like technology, outsourcing and consolidation working against job creation, any job market rebound we see in the near future will be relatively small," Challenger said.

Though unemployment is typically a lagging economic indicator, the U.S. economy has enjoyed eight straight quarters of economic growth, including a growth rate of 7.2 percent in the third quarter of 2003, without significant job creation.

In fact, since the declared end of the latest recession, in November 2001, more than a million payroll jobs have been lost, according to the Labor Department.

Is this the worst over for the job market?

Challenger's firm also surveyed about 50 human resources executives and found that 78 percent don't expect to see a "significant" upturn in hiring until the second quarter of 2004.

Eleven percent of those surveyed said the pick-up would be delayed until the third or fourth quarter of 2004. Another 11 percent said there would be no hiring rebound at all in 2004.

So far this year, there have been 1.04 million job-cut announcements, making 2003 the third straight year in which more than a million cuts have been announced.

The automotive industry led the payroll-trimming, with 28,363 announced cuts. Retail followed with 21,169 cuts, the long-suffering telecommunications sector announced 21,030 cuts, the "industrial goods" sector announced 17,484 cuts and the consumer products sector announced 12,077 cuts.

Among U.S. states, Michigan had the most job-cut announcements, with 31,105. Texas followed with 21,033 cuts, New York had 20,486 cuts, New Jersey had 10,750 cuts and California had 10,719 cuts.

[RiflemanSharpe]

Who will buy the good s made by these companies when none of us have good paying jobs to afford them. There is only so much refi money out there.

[cajungirl]

"none of us have jobs",,where did you get that? The unemployment hangs around 6 % which is pretty damn good if you ask me. You would think from reading some pundits that we were all starving out here, going from place to place looking for a handout. Not true.

[Lael]

Challenger, Gray & Christmas

I dunno.

Albertsons here said they were cutting back from 1:00 AM closings to 12 Midnight closings. So I asked the checkout guy at 11:30 PM last night WTF???

No 'Top line Growth' for several years, so time to squeeze the "operations" again to puff up the bottom line.

BTW, CG&C inherited the layoff thing from someone who dropped dead about 15 years ago...figures come from WARN Act notices and are reliable.

DON'T SHOOT THE MESSINGER!!!

[Lael]

Challenger, Gray & Christmas

I dunno.

Albertsons here said they were cutting back from 1:00 AM closings to 12 Midnight closings. So I asked the checkout guy at 11:30 PM last night WTF???

No 'Top line Growth' for several years, so time to squeeze the "operations" again to puff up the bottom line.

BTW, CG&C inherited the layoff thing from someone who dropped dead about 15 years ago...figures come from WARN Act notices and are reliable.

DON'T SHOOT THE MESSINGER!!!

[oceanview]

believe it, because its true. large companies, with large white collar staffs, continue to be net dis-employers. That's not to say there aren't other types of jobs being created in other areas. But the traditional American "Fortune 500 company" white collar staff job, and the wages and benefits that those type of jobs provide, are melting away.

[Keith]

After all the "doom and gloom", the last line says, "Payrolls expected to rise." For many years, the trend has been for small companies to be doing most of the new hiring. Tax incentives have been a huge part of that boom...that is where the "good new jobs" are coming from. And they don't hire idiots like Challenger et. al. to fill those, they can't afford their high fees. They do it themselves...imagine that.

[Capitalism2003]

on a positive note, I got a job 2 weeks ago...
a local tech/assembly company needed 60 people asap...

certain industries ARE picking up, despite the unending doom and gloom we hear. That 7.2% certainly includes new jobs...but they always lag the other numbers, and won't be reported until the next update.

[ScreenName1]

"The unemployment rate has specific limitations. It can't differentiate between full-time and part-time jobs. It doesn't account for people who are underemployed, or working in jobs for which they are overqualified because they can't find a good job. It won't tell you how many people have become so discouraged in their job search that they have given up hope of finding a job. "

How Is The Unemployment Rate Calculated?
BY KATE KAHLE, RESEARCH ANALYST
Re-published from Main Street Montana Winter 2002
___________________________________________________________

Nobody said "none of of us had jobs" but maybe we don't have good jobs.

Here is an example, I met a man working as a replacement cashier at Albertsons in SoCal. His previous job? Regional sales manager for a Mktg. firm with about 27 direct reports and a fairly good income including benefits.
Today he is scanning frozen peas and six packs.

Does he have a job? Yes. Does that job suck and is it a financial dead end? Also, yes.

Is this the end of his life? Probably not.

Don't be so eager to proclaim the great employment numbers when the jobs that do remain are ones that you would never aspire your children to be stuck in.

[Starwind]

UPDATE - US job cuts surge 125 percent in Oct.-Challenger
Tuesday November 4, 11:56 am ET

(Recasts lead, adds economists comments, background, Tyco job cuts)

NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - The number of job cuts announced by U.S. employers more than doubled in October, after declining for two months, calling into question the strength of job market as other segments of the economy surge.

Planned layoffs at U.S. firms shot up to 171,874 jobs in October, from 76,506 in September, job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Tuesday. Layoffs were at their highest since Oct. 2002, when 176,010 job cuts were announced.

Some economists say the data may not provide a complete picture of the labor market, but investors seeking clues about Friday's employment report sent bond prices higher after the Challenger report.

"With factors like technology, outsourcing, and consolidation working against job creation, any job market rebound we see in the near future will be relatively small," said John Challenger, chief executive at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement.

In a signal that the job market may face another difficult month in November, Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE:TYC - News) on Tuesday said it would eliminate 7,200 jobs as it dismantles its far-flung global empire.

"We're not out of the woods yet with regard to the labor market," said Lehman Brother economist Drew Matus.

The job market won't really turn the corner until the economy shows a few quarters of strong growth, Matus said.

But some economists believe that the layoff numbers do not necessarily indicate a sour labor market.

Higher layoffs at larger companies could be offset by more robust hiring at small and medium-sized firms, said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo & Co.

The Challenger report clashes with other signals that the labor market has shown signs of stabilizing.

The September employment report showed that employers increased the number of workers on their payrolls by 57,000, the first increase since January.

In addition, last week the number of initial jobless claims fell to 386,000, the fourth straight week that claims were under 400,000, which economists consider as a critical level for the labor market.

A report on the manufacturing sector on Monday said the pace of factory job cuts was slowing.

Analysts are eagerly awaiting Friday's report payrolls and unemployment. According to a Reuters poll, economists on average forecasted payrolls increased by 55,000, and unemployment held steady at 6.1 percent.

(Additional reporting by Kevin Plumberg)

[Matchett-PI]

HERE Hahahaha

[LS]

You must be wrong. You can't have a job. Everyone here says so. There are no jobs, dontcha know?

[LS]

You must be wrong. You can't have a job. Everyone here says so. There are no jobs, dontcha know?

[sourcery]

Hahahaha

"Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle, and quick to anger!"

I'm gratified that Bush remains popular. I voted for Bush in 2000, and I'll do so again in 2004. That's not because I see Bush as ideal, but because the only other realistic choice is some Dimwit Democrat. Never again would be too soon. Horrid creatures. But I would suggest that the political point of view is not the best perspective from which to analyze either the economy or the stock market. Take your political glasses off. You'll see better. For one thing, you'll stop wrongfully seeing anti-Bush sentiement where none exists.

[imawit]

"With factors like technology, outsourcing, and consolidation working against job creation

They forgot the 10's of thousands in the mtg industry who are on commission who are out of work/business who will not show up on this.