Challenger Sees Layoffs Rising to 41,432 in June

WASHINGTON — There were 41,432 layoff intentions announced in June, up 11.6% from 37,135 in May, and also higher than the 39,358 job cuts announced in June 2010, job placement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc. said in a report released Wednesday. The data is not seasonally adjusted.

Layoffs in June were led by the government-nonprofit sector, which reported 10,176 job reductions in the month.

Despite the overall increase, the overall pace of downsizing through the first half of 2011 is at the lowest level since 2000, Challenger said.

Employers have now announced 245,806 planned job cuts this year, 17.4% lower than the 297,677 cuts announced in the first half of 2010.

"The employment picture remains a bit cloudy," according to the firm's chief executive officer, John Challenger. "Continued slowness in the pace of job cuts is certainly promising. However, hiring is coming in spurts and is not quite robust enough to make a significant dent in unemployment."

"We saw relatively strong payroll gains in February, March and April, only to see much slower growth in May," he added. "The next three or four months of employment and hiring data will be important indicators of whether the expansion has prematurely hit the brakes or if the dips in job creation are simply bumps on the road to recovery."

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