By Kevin Kastner
WASHINGTON (MNI) – There were 37,880 layoff intentions announced in
March, down from 51,728 in February, and 9.0% lower than the 41,528 job
cuts announced in March 2011, job placement firm Challenger, Gray and
Christmas, Inc. said in a report released Thursday. The data are not
seasonally adjusted.
Layoffs in March were led by the telecommuncations sector, which
reported 4,089 job reductions in the month.
“Both consumer products and transportation saw fewer job cuts in
March after experiencing heavy cuts in February,” said John Challenger,
chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Challenger reported 1,216 layoff intentions for the transportation
sector in March, which was a substantial decrease from the 14,065
reported in February.
Consumer products also saw a large decrease with only 2,118 layoff
intentions announced in March compared to 13,856 in February.
“These are key indicators of the economy’s health, so they will be
closely monitored in the coming months for more signs of distress,” he
added.
Still, Challenger warned of the potential for future government
layoffs to come, saying “This may simply be the eye of the storm for
government workers; a lull in activity in an election year and a time
when many state budgets are still being negotiated.”
“The potential for a surge in government cuts is significant,” he
added, saying that “massive” plans for cuts at the U.S. Post Office is
still being considerred and that the U.S. Department of the Interior is
being asked to elimnate 5,000 workers by the end of fiscal year 2013.
In other data released, hiring intentions rose 1,670 to 12,390 in
March and were 1,521 higher than in March 2011. March hiring plans were
led by the computer sector with 4,000.
** MNI Washington Bureau (202) 371-2121 **
[TOPICS: MAUDS$,MT$$$$,M$U$$$,MAUDR$]