Skip to Content

Challenger Gray & Christmas report fewer layoffs in June

Text SizeAAA

Filed under: Economy

More

According to a survey by outplacement consultants Challenger Gray & Christmas, June saw corporate layoff announcements drop to the slowest pace in 15 months. During June, 74,393 people were laid off -- which was 33 percent lower than May's 111,182 layoffs and 9 percent less than a year ago. Moreover, announced cuts have exceeded the 100,000 mark each month dating back to last September.

In the past six months, 896,675 jobs have been cut -- the largest figure the group has seen since it began tracking announcements in 1989. In addition, before we get too excited about the fact that June's layoff numbers have decreased, let's take into account that Challenger Gray & Christmas only track announced job cuts -- there are many more layoffs that don't receive the same billing as others, and the figures are not seasonally adjusted.

Bottom line: This is good news but, combined with the recently released ADP employment numbers, it could cause a bit of unjust euphoria as far as our current economic state is concerned.

One reason for the optimism is that these reports precede the Labor Department's report on nonfarm payroll growth for June. My concern is that we will see the market rally today, only to be let down tomorrow morning when the employment numbers are released (of course, how far can you be let down when you expect unemployment to rise to 9.6 percent? Plenty of reason to be optimistic, right?). Let's remember that we are in the midst of a nasty downturn, one we will not emerge from until unemployment shrinks . . . and the last time I checked, 9.6 percent unemployment is pretty high.

I just worry that expectations are going to be big heading into tomorrow's report, and further stoking of the bullish flames by the media could lead to a disappointing end to a holiday-shortened week.

Interest Rates

5/1 ARM+4.06%APR: +3.75%
30 Yr.
Fixed Mort.
+5.03%APR: +5.16%
$30K
HELOC
+8.00%APR: 0.00%
30 Mo
New Car Loan
+6.77%APR: 0.00%
1 Yr. CD+1.57%APR: +1.58%
DailyFinance Writers
Melly Alazraki Melly Alazraki Financial writer and analyst
James Altucher James Altucher Financial columnist
Jeff Bercovici Jeff Bercovici Media columnist
Jonathan Berr Jonathan Berr Financial writer and media columnist
Mercedes Cardona Mercedes Cardona Retail reporter
Tim Catts Tim Catts Financial writer
Peter Cohan Peter Cohan Author, venture capitalist and financial writer
Carrie Coolidge Carrie Coolidge Financial writer
Lita Epstein Lita Epstein Financial writer
Sam Gustin Sam Gustin Technology Writer
Nikhil Hutheesing Nikhil Hutheesing Tech and investing editor
Joseph Lazzaro Joseph Lazzaro Markets and economics writer
Latif Lewis Michelle Leder Financial Columnist
Latif Lewis Latif Lewis Business news editor and management columnist
Anthony Massucci Anthony Massucci Senior writer and tech columnist
Doug McIntyre Doug McIntyre Business and investing news writer and editor
Michael Mercurio Michael Mercurio Managing Editor
Todd Pruzan Todd Pruzan Features editor
Michael Rainey Michael Rainey Editor and economics writer
Alex Salkever Alex Salkever Senior technology writer
David Schepp David Schepp Business News reporter
Matthew Scott Matthew Scott Investing reporter and editor
Dan Solin Daniel R. Solin Author, investment advisor and retirement expert
Amey Stone Amey Stone Executive editor
Bruce Watson Mark Svenvold Columnist, renewable energy
Russel Turk, M.D. Russell Turk, M.D. Healthcare policy columnist
Bruce Watson Bruce Watson Features Writer
my portfolios

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance than anywhere else.

Create a New Portfolio My Portfolios

Daily Finance Partners

More from the Weblogs Network