Chicago, IL, December 5, 2006--Planned job reductions rose by 11% in November to 76,773 as more than 20,000 jobs were eliminated in the automotive sector, according to a monthly tally released on Tuesday.
So far in 2006, planned layoffs total 385,179, outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas said. That's down 19% from the 964,232 announced last year at this time.
This year is on pace to be the first since 2000 that Challenger counts fewer than 1 million job reductions.
November's job reductions were down 23% from November 2005. It's the eighth month this year with smaller layoffs than the same month last year.
"Right now the job market appears to be relatively stable, with low unemployment, moderate job cutting and steady, if not spectacular, job creation," said John Challenger, head of the outplacement firm, in a written statement.
"There is no question that the economy is slowing," he said. "Weakness in the housing market is expected to continue and higher paying jobs in manufacturing and construction continue to shrink."
The auto industry announced 20,318 job reductions in November. Ford said about 38,000 hourly workers had accepted its early-retirement offer, but most of those job cuts were counted earlier in the year, when Ford released those plans.
So far in 2006, a record 151,457 jobs have been eliminated in the auto sector, breaking the previous high of 133,686 set in 2001.
The government's payroll figures don't show such a severe decline in employment in the auto industry yet. According to the Labor Department, the number of workers in the sector is down about 35,000, or 3.2%, since the first of the year to 1.06 million.
Companies in the industrial-goods sector cut 17,255 jobs in November, while consumer-product employers cut 4,766. Construction companies cut 3,562 jobs.
The Challenger report is an unscientific tally that covers only a tiny fraction of those who lose their jobs each month.
In September, for instance, a total of 1.8 million workers were discharged from their jobs involuntarily, about 1.3% of total employment, according to the latest available data from the Labor Department. By comparison, 2.77 million quit their jobs voluntarily in September.
The layoffs tracked by Challenger could take place immediately or over time. The reductions could be accomplished by voluntary means such as retirements or workers leaving for other jobs. They could be offset by hiring in other divisions of a company.
