US employers announced 92,351 layoffs in January, down 15 percent from December's tally, outplacement firm Challenger Gray and Christmas said Wednesday. It was the first month since August that planned job cuts were below 100,000, the firm said. Planned reductions were down 21 percent from January 2004. More than a third of January's layoffs were in three sectors: government, financial services and automotive, which each cut more than 10,000 jobs in January.
Telecommunications companies cut fewer than 1,500 jobs in January, but that number is expected to soar in coming months. "Merger activity is starting to accelerate in many industries," said John Challenger, chief executive of the outplacement firm. "On Monday alone, there were three major deals announced, including the mega-merger between SBC and AT and T, which is likely to result in significant job cuts." Mergers and acquisition activity was the second-leading cause of layoffs in January, behind cost-cutting. The Challenger data are not seasonally adjusted. Since January is typically a heavy job-cutting month, the fact that job cuts declined from December "is a sign of job market improvement," Challenger said.
The Challenger survey covers only a small portion of job losses; most small businesses do not announce job reductions. The announced reductions can occur immediately or over time.