Planned Job Cuts Decline in December

Chicago, IL, Jan. 5, 2012 -- Planned job cuts by U.S. employers declined in December to 41,785, the lowest monthly total since June, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The number fell 1.6% from November but was up 31% from December 2010. For all of 2011, job cuts rose 14% to 606,082. The recession peak was in 2009 with 1.29 million.