Job Cuts Top 100,000 in January - Report

Reuters ^ | Tuesday February 3, 2004

[Walkin Man]

Job Cuts Top 100,000 in January - Report Tuesday February 3, 12:50 pm ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Planned job cuts in January were 26 percent higher than in December as U.S. jobs moved to countries like India, China and the Philippines, and as mergers made some jobs redundant, according to a report on Tuesday.

The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., said post-holiday job cuts reached 117,556 in January surpassing the 100,000 threshold for the first time since last October.

Financial markets were on their toes awaiting January's payrolls report to be issued by the Labor Department on Friday after a disappointing December report that showed an increase of only 1,000 jobs.

Analysts had expected 150,000 new jobs to show up in the data, and the worse-than-expected outcome showed that the U.S. economic recovery has yet to produce sustained jobs growth. Economists again expect a figure of 150,000 new jobs in January.

Poor job creation is a headache for President Bush as he seeks re-election in November. The economy -- specifically job creation -- is expected to be a key issue in the campaign. Since Bush took office, more than 2.3 million non-farm jobs have been lost.

According to Challenger, consumer product companies led the January cutbacks with 22,775 job cuts, the largest number of reported job cuts in that sector in a single month since 1993, according to Challenger.

Challenger said one of the main factors for the job cuts in January was an increase of employers eliminating jobs in the United States and shifting to service providers in India, China and the Philippines among other countries.

Another factor was an increase in mergers so far this year. The survey's head, John Challenger, noted in a statement that one of those mergers will result in "as many as 10,000 job cuts to take place as redundant positions are eliminated."

[Rokke]

"If Bush doesn't do something about this,"

Ahhhh, a true Conservative. What is the government gonna do for meeeeee.

[M. Thatcher]

America continues its slide into third world nation status

Oh good night, you people are beyond pathetic.

[lulu67]

I'm just wondering.... what if an American comes along that wants one of those jobs already filled by a guest worker? Can they "bump" the GW? I'll bet there'll be tons of lawsuits about that and about Americans who feel they were 'denied' a job because it was already filled by a GW when the job was advertised as being available.

[righto]

That's right. Government can't create jobs unless you want more government jobs. It can only create a positive business environment which creates wealth for all. A good supply sider am I.
Note that bush had to backtrack on Steel prrotectionism as it only created beggar thy neighbor policies with trading partners and raising prices for steel users at home.

[azhenfud]

I'm saying, let's not deceive ourselves by thinking corporate profits paraded on Wall Street are any indication that times for working America are on the mend when exactly the opposite is true. Neither should corporate internationals assume American pockets are so deep that a "displaced worker" can continue to buy their goods/services - unless they're willing to eventually adjust their prices according to the reduction of incomes they've helped create...

[CMAC51]

Until self employment numbers are counted, "unemployment numbers" will remain garbage.

Contract labor does not count in many of the indices. Someone could be doing the same job on Monday that they did on Friday, but if the job was moved to a contract service, a job was lost, unemployment went up and no job was created. The person is still drawing a paycheck though.

That is not to say there are not problems in the employment sector, however the numbers don't paint an accurate picture.

[38special]

I know 5 people personally who are currently unemployed and two are siblings. In fact a good friend of mine, who is a mechanical engineer btw, was just laid off this past friday by a small energy firm. My brother, an IBEW union electrician, has now run out of unemployment benefits (9 months) but he is, according to him, "moving up the list" for the few incoming job calls. My sister completed her contract and is between jobs; she doesn't seem to be too worried, however. My friend in Phoenix was let go from his job as a project manager for some sort of convention burea just before christmas and is looking for employment. My wife's friend is recently divorced and is having difficulty re-entering the workforce, though she has few marketable skills. Myself, I was laid off almost two years ago but found a good job within two months of unemployment. I guess I am one of the lucky ones. The problem is real and is hitting close to home. :--(

[Baseballguy]

This is the most effective statement that could be said.

Its not what you can do for your country its what your country can do for you. When will people realize that jobs are not careers. Careers change as the economy changes. Those that adpat will get new jobs. They will create new careers.

Those that dont get it get left behind .

[freeeee]

you people are beyond pathetic

She says, as she hurls a stinkbomb and sulks away.

Now there's an example for us all to follow!

[azhenfud]

"...if it's efficient to produce elsewhere it helps our consumers, it creates overseas consumers for our products."

Excuse my short-sightedness, but if "it's produced elsewhere" for "efficiency", it isn't "our product" anymore. Can you explain? Or are you referring to that which is left to be manufactured in the US, if any?

[righto]

Then specifically, what do you propose as a solution and should the government be the one to impose ththis solution?

[righto]

Does that mean that every country should assume the same buy at home mentality? Nobody would export anything anymore? The factgg is that our unemployment rate is the lowest in the western world, including countries in Europe that go overboard in trying to conserve jobs by fiat.

[ex-snook]

Picture of self-employed man selling apples.

[phil_will1]

"Compare the number of posts on this thread to any of the superbowl threads."

That is a good point. It doesn't say much for the judgement and priorities of mainstream America, does it?


My intuition tells me that NAFTA, GATT, etc. (contrary to what our Democratic friends are saying) is not responsible for large corporations moving jobs to areas where they can pay lower wages. After all, the trade agreements address products moving across international boundaries. When I call Lexmark for customer support on my fax/copier/printer/scanner, and I get through to some guy in India, I'm not sure that that situation would be any different if we had never passed NAFTA, GATT, etc.

In summary, I do know that the right kind of fundamental tax reform would make US produced goods more price competitive both here and abroad. By the "right kind", I mean the FairTax (HR 25/S 1493). That should give the manufacturing and agricultural sectors a much needed shot in the arm. I don't know if that would be enough to offset these technical support/programming and other technical positions that are moving offshore. I also don't know if there is anything that we could do about that specific situation that would be effective.

Please weigh in everyone. Does anyone have any ideas?

[Walkin Man]

Well if it's good for the American worker, it should be good for our leaders as well, no?

[freeeee]

Demand equal access to their markets: "You close your market to our goods, we close our markets to yours."

What we're doing now is the economic equivalent of unilateral disarmament.

[righto]

I agree. The more competitive the tax regime the more efficient it is to create jobs. That is a major reason why California and New York have the highest unemployment rates. They also have the highest tax rates.

[Alberta's Child]

Compare the number of posts on this thread to any of the superbowl threads.

Compare the two points you mentioned in your complaint about America's "slide into Third World nation status," and you'll understand why so few people take threads like this seriously.

America is somehow becoming a Third World nation, and yet a record number of Americans somehow figured out a way to consume billions of dollars worth of snack food and billions of dollars worth of alcohol while watching a stupid football game (the NFL is about a $20 billion industry in the U.S.) on 500-inch plasma televisions.

You have got to be kidding me.

[lelio]

Someone could be doing the same job on Monday that they did on Friday, but if the job was moved to a contract service, a job was lost, unemployment went up and no job was created.

The unemployment number wouldn't go up on the unemployment benefit numbers, nor on a household survey. It would show up in the Challenger Gray "layoff notices" report.

"No job created" -- well in truth none was. However I believe they would get counted in a jobs growth count as the company that hired the person would report a growth in headcount.

[GraniteStateConservative]

Can we outsource Congress and the WH? I bet we could get the same level of work done more cheaply.