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U.S. Job Cuts On the Rise

Analysts say there are some significant weak spots in the job market. The auto industry leads all others in terms of job cuts in 2005, with 89,016 announced cuts, up 123-percent from the 2004 ten-month total of 39,921. The biggest job-cut gain occurred in aerospace and defense, which, despite an ongoing war on terrorism, has announced 28,125 job cuts through October, up 298-percent from the 7,074 job cuts through October, 2004.

John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray and Christmas says, "There are definitely some troubling signs that the economy is not on sure footing, including a noticeable slowdown in consumer spending. However, the typical year-end job-cutting surge has not materialized, which suggests that companies are taking a wait-and-see approach."

He added, "Job cuts related to Hurricane Katrina are likely to continue showing up in our numbers for months to come, as companies slowly evaluate the situation and determine their staffing needs while the cleanup and rebuilding process proceeds."