Posted on 10/07/2004 12:52:35 PM PDT by crushelits
NEW YORK - A rash of job cuts more than 10,000 layoffs just this week from a handful of companies has created some gloom on the jobs front. But Friday's release of jobs data for September was expected to show a steady unemployment rate and creation between about 50,000 to 250,000 new jobs, though uncertainties such as the effects of last month's hurricanes kept the estimates all over the map, said Wachovia Corp. economist Mark Vitner.
It's an unusually wide range, because there are so many complicating factors this month," he said. "It's all over the board."
Vitner predicts the Labor Department (news - web sites) data to fall in the upper stratum of that range, partly because most job losses due to the recent hurricanes were in the agricultural sector. Friday's data will include only nonfarm payrolls.
Others were more measured.
Dow Jones Newswires' estimate from a survey of economists is for about the middle of that range, calling for 145,000 new jobs, on top of 144,000 in August.
"I think they're too optimistic," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. The job placement and research company's report Tuesday on corporate downsizing showed more than 100,000 announced job cuts in September, and Challenger added there was little evidence of job creation that month.
he market expects the unemployment rate, a Labor Department survey of about 60,000 households, to hold steady from last month at 5.4 percent.
On Thursday, the Labor Department reported that the number of new people signing up for unemployment insurance benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 37,000 to 335,000, the lowest level since the beginning of September. In the prior three weeks, claims had gone up. Economists were expecting claims to decline to around 355,000.
Sandra Pianalto, president and the Federal Reserve (news - web sites) Bank of Cleveland and a member of the interest rate policy setting Federal Open Market Committee (news - web sites), said Thursday said the labor outlook was still unclear.
"As the unemployment data arrives over the next several months, we may very well see the job numbers snap back if confidence in our economy is restored, economies around the world strengthen and energy prices stabilize," Pianalto said. "But it may turn out that the process of job expansion will take more time to gain momentum."
The jobs data comes on top of several layoff announcements this week from companies such as Bank of America and Bombardier Aerospace.
"There's an awful lot of churning that goes on in the labor market," Vitner said, adding that while the overall economic picture is far from rosy, the number of job openings has nevertheless increased by more than 10 percent in the last year.
A sampling of mass layoffs announced this week:
_ Bank of America Corp. said Thursday it will cut about 4,500 jobs, or about 2.5 percent of its work force, beginning this month as a result of its merger with FleetBoston Financial Corp.
_ Bombardier Aerospace said Thursday it is cutting 2,000 jobs starting in November because of weak demand for its Canadair Regional Jets. The cuts include 540 jobs in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and 1,440 on the Montreal area.
_ Unisys Corp. said Wednesday it plans to cut 1,400 jobs, or nearly 4 percent of its work force.
_ Hedstrom Corp., which makes children's toy and leisure products, discontinued operations Wednesday and laid off more than 800 employees.
_ Eastman Kodak Co. said Tuesday it will cut nearly 900 jobs at three of its manufacturing facilities in Europe as part of the company's shift from traditional film production to digital photography.
_ Temple-Inland Inc., which makes packaging and building materials, said Monday it will slash 1,500 jobs and take a third-quarter charge to sell its third-party mortgage servicing portfolio and reposition its mortgage origination activities.
Who cares about European job losses??? Give me an F'n break.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.