Announced U.S. Job Cuts Rise 212% From Year Ago, Challenger Says

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

October 05, 2011, 7:52 AM EDT
By Alex Kowalski

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. employers announced the most job cuts in more than two years in September, led by planned reductions at Bank of America Corp. and in the military.

Announced firings jumped 212 percent, the largest increase since January 2009, to 115,730 last month from 37,151 in September 2010, according to Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Cuts in government employment, led by the Army’s five-year troop reduction plan, and at Bank of America accounted for almost 70 percent of the announcements.

While the bulk of firings are not “directly related” to economic weakness, they “could definitely be a sign of more cuts to come,” John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement. “Bank of America is not the only bank still struggling in the wake of the housing collapse, and the military cutbacks are probably just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to federal spending cuts.”

More reductions will add to the pool of job seekers competing for work as policy makers, including President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve officials, strive to spur the labor market. Payrolls probably didn’t rise fast enough last month to lower the jobless rate, according to a Bloomberg News survey of economists before the Labor Department’s monthly jobs figures in two days.

Read more: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-05/announced-u-s-job-cuts-rise-212-from-year-ago-challenger-says.html

[xchrom]

1. Recommend

[Freddie Stubbs]

2. Planned Layoffs Surged in September to 29-Month High

Source: International Business Times

The number of planned job cuts in the U.S. soared to a 29-month high in September, exacerbated by layoffs at Bank of America and cutbacks by the U.S. military, a report said.

Global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. reported that job cuts totaled 115,730 in the month -- the highest such figure since April 2009 – and more than double the 51,114 announced in August.

In April 2009, 132,590 job cuts were unveiled.

By comparison, only 37,151 job cuts were announced in September of last year.

Read more: http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/225449/20111005/layoffs-challenger-military-bank-of-america.htm

[rfranklin]

3. Good thing we extended those tax cuts for the job creators!

The insanity never ends.

[Kolesar]

4. It does not mean 50,000 soldiers' jobs were ended in September

It means that 50,000 jobs will be eliminated over the next 60 months.
~800/month

[judesedit]

5. No wonder...the corporations keep taking our jobs offshore/overseas... They should be taxed for it

Period

[Arctic Dave]

6. I think Obama needs to kill another terrorist so we don't have to think about this.

Killing them over there so you be homeless on the streets here.

[fasttense]

7. NO jobs for the unemployed. NO food for the hungry. NO medical care for the sick.

But..... plenty of more money for the moneyed.

[Beacool]

9. Yep, that about sums it up.

x(

[Doctor_J]

8. Can we stop calling them "job creators" now?

if we had a media presence, we could come up with our own name for them and make it stick

[tawadi]

11. + 1,000,000

[indepat]

10. Surely no one could have foreseen this in the wake of BHO's grand bargain with the

not-so-le-grande orange. :patriot:

[Omaha Steve]

12. Report shows service firms cut workers last month

Source: AP-Excite

By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) - Service companies cut workers last month for the first time in 13 months, according to a private survey. The decline is a pessimistic sign two days before the government reports on job growth in September.

The Institute for Supply Management said its measure of hiring for service firms, which employ 90 percent of the work force, fell below 50 for the first time since August 2010.

Any reading below 50 suggests companies laid off workers. The economy lost jobs for two straight months the last time the gauge was below that level.

"The sharp drop in September is quite worrisome," said Joshua Shapiro, an economist at MFR Inc., in a note to clients. "If this was not an aberration, in all likelihood we are going to see private ... payrolls disappoint in the months ahead."

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20111005/D9Q68OVO1.html

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Mechanic Ray Duran hoists a tire onto a car at a Shell station in Los Angeles Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2011. Service firms that employ 90 percent of the U.S. work force grew at a slower pace in September, evidence that the economy is growing but at a sluggish pace. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)