Downsizing Activity Relatively Flat in September

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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U.S.-based employers planned to cut 33,816 jobs in September, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas That was up 4.9% from 32,229 in August, as well as 71% lower than in September of 2011.

Employers announced 102,910 job cuts in the third quarter, which was 27% lower than in the previous quarter and down 56% from the third quarter of 2011. That was the lowest quarterly total since the second quarter of 2000, when planned layoffs numbered 81,568.

The significant drop-off in the number of layoffs announced by the government sector contributed to a decline in monthly job cut figures. These employers announced just 14,186 job cuts through September, compared to 119,027 by this point a year ago.

The industry that cut the most jobs last month was energy, which announced 3,393 job cuts in September. But that was less than the 4,771 in they year-ago period.

John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said:

Layoffs are definitely at pre-recession levels. Unfortunately, hiring has not returned to those levels. A combination of factors, including the upcoming election, ongoing instability in Europe, growing signs of weakness in Asia and a host of other issues, are keeping companies from making any major expansion or hiring moves.

The full report is available here.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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