zimv20
Dec 7, 2004, 07:40 PM
link (http://money.cnn.com/2004/12/07/news/economy/jobless_challenger/index.htm?cnn=yes)
Job cut plans accelerate
Survey: Firms set 104,530 November cuts, ending first 3-month stretch at that level since '02.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Hit by rising health care and energy costs, employers announced more than 100,000 job cuts in November, capping the first three-month stretch above that level since early 2002, an outplacement firm said Tuesday.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said companies announced 104,530 job cuts in November, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier and 2.6 percent from October.
The September through November totals mark the first time that announced job cuts have topped 100,000 for three or more straight months since January to April of 2002, the firm said.
"Higher health care and energy costs for employers and employees are definitely taking a toll. Companies are being forced to enact more cost-containment measures to protect profits," the firm's CEO John Challenger said in a statement.
The telecommunications and auto industries were among the industries with the heaviest job cut announcements over the last three months, Challenger said in its report.
U.S. employers have announced 930,690 job cuts this year, down 19 percent from the same period a year earlier.
But if December cuts reach 69,310, it will mark the fourth straight year with 1 million cuts announced by U. S. employers, Challenger added.
The report also noted that a new Business Roundtable survey of CEOs at major companies found that 20 percent expect employment to fall in the coming months, up from 12 percent in the previous survey.
"We've fallen far short of prior economic expansions," said JPMorgan Fleming's Chan. "We're about 5-1/2 million (jobs) short of where would be today if this were a typical expansion."
i know what we need -- more cowbell! errrr... tax cuts!
Job cut plans accelerate
Survey: Firms set 104,530 November cuts, ending first 3-month stretch at that level since '02.
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Hit by rising health care and energy costs, employers announced more than 100,000 job cuts in November, capping the first three-month stretch above that level since early 2002, an outplacement firm said Tuesday.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said companies announced 104,530 job cuts in November, up 5.1 percent from a year earlier and 2.6 percent from October.
The September through November totals mark the first time that announced job cuts have topped 100,000 for three or more straight months since January to April of 2002, the firm said.
"Higher health care and energy costs for employers and employees are definitely taking a toll. Companies are being forced to enact more cost-containment measures to protect profits," the firm's CEO John Challenger said in a statement.
The telecommunications and auto industries were among the industries with the heaviest job cut announcements over the last three months, Challenger said in its report.
U.S. employers have announced 930,690 job cuts this year, down 19 percent from the same period a year earlier.
But if December cuts reach 69,310, it will mark the fourth straight year with 1 million cuts announced by U. S. employers, Challenger added.
The report also noted that a new Business Roundtable survey of CEOs at major companies found that 20 percent expect employment to fall in the coming months, up from 12 percent in the previous survey.
"We've fallen far short of prior economic expansions," said JPMorgan Fleming's Chan. "We're about 5-1/2 million (jobs) short of where would be today if this were a typical expansion."
i know what we need -- more cowbell! errrr... tax cuts!
