New York, May 4--Job reductions announced by US companies declined last month to the lowest level since November 2000, the latest survey results from a private research group revealed.
Challenger Grey & Christmas, a US-based outplacement agency, said in a monthly report on Tuesday that the layoff announcements by US-based companies declined 33% in April 2005.
While job reductions declined 20% year to year last month, job cuts in the first four months of this year are about 3% above the job cuts announced in the same period last year, the report added.
Challenger Grey & Christmas' CEO, John Challenger, said, "(the lowest layoff figure since 2000) is certainly great news for an economy that has been struggling for over two years to produce definitive signs of a strong turnaround."
The monthly data from the outplacement firm is compiled from announcements by companies about recruitments and layoffs and not actual job reductions or additions. Meanwhile, companies announced last month plans to hire 22,452 employees in the forthcoming months, representing a 21% increase over the hiring plans announced in March this year, the Challenger Grey and Christmas report said.
