- NEW YORK (Reuters) -- The
number of job cuts announced by U.S. employers surged 125 percent in October,
after declining for two months, calling into question the strength of the
recovery in the job market.
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- Planned layoffs at U.S. firms shot up to 171,874 jobs
in October, from 76,506 in September, job placement firm Challenger, Gray
& Christmas said on Tuesday. Announced layoffs were at their highest
since Oct. 2002, when 176,010 job cuts were announced.
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- "With factors like technology, outsourcing, and
consolidation working against job creation, any job market rebound we see
in the near future will be relatively small," said John Challenger,
chief executive at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement.
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- Some analysts were heartened by the September employment
report, which showed payroll numbers rose by 57,000. In addition, last
week the number of initial jobless claims fell to 386,000, the fourth straight
week that claims were under 400,000, which economists consider as a critical
level for the labor market.
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- Even yesterday's manufacturing report from the Institute
for Supply Management said the pace of factory job cuts was slowing.
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- Analysts are eagerly awaiting Friday's report on the
employment situation. According to a Reuters poll, economists on average
forecasted payrolls increased by 55,000.
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