Planned Layoffs in the US Drop to Lowest Since 2000

January 9, 2014 Share Print 0

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms plunged by 32 percent in December to the lowest monthly total in more than 13 years, a report on Thursday showed.

Employers announced 30,623 layoffs last month, down from 45,314 in November, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The last time employers announced fewer job cuts was June of 2000, when 17,241 planned layoffs were recorded.

The figures come a day ahead of the closely-watched U.S. non-farm payrolls report, which is forecast to show the economy added 196,000 jobs in December

On Wednesday, payrolls processor ADP reported private employers added 238,000 jobs last month. That was well above market forecasts and has fed speculation of stronger overall U.S. growth in 2014.

For all of 2013, employers announced 509,051 cuts, down 3 percent from the 523,362 seen in 2012 and the lowest yearly total since 1997, the Challenger data showed.

via Reuters

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.