Planned Layoffs Surge 68 Percent in April

Chicago, IL, May 1, 2008--Planned layoffs in the U.S. jumped 68 percent in April from the prior month to the highest since September 2006, according to consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Planned job cuts totaled 90,015 last month, up from 53,579 in March and up 27 percent from a year earlier, the firm said.

The April layoffs were the steepest since the 100,315 cuts announced in September 2006.

Most of the announced job cuts came from the financial sector, due to the housing slump and about $300 billion in write-downs on bad mortgages and investments, the firm said.

The telecommunications sector was second in announced layoffs in April with 8,007, followed closely by 7,954 planned cuts in the transportation industry.

Employers have announced 290,671 jobs to be eliminated in the first four months of 2008, up 9 percent from the 266,658 cuts recorded during the same span in 2007, the firm said.

Going forward, the fallout from record oil prices may result in more layoffs than the housing slump, John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.