Oct 2007 as VLT 5th top: re Job Losses Hit 522,000; Planned Layoffs Also Spike
Considering the Oct 2007 top as the VLT 5th wave top scenario is reasonable, and a bounce of "B" with stimulus program. ______________________________________________________
Job Losses Hit 522,000; Planned Layoffs Also Spike Reuters | 04 Feb 2009 | 08:25 AM ET
Planned layoffs at U.S. firms reached their highest monthly level in seven years, while private sector job losses slowed slightly in January, according to reports released Wednesday that showed the more than year-old U.S. recession taking an increasingly heavy toll on employment.
Private sector job losses slowed slightly in January, according to a report by ADP Employer Services on Wednesday that came in slightly below economists' expectations.
ADP said private employers cut 522,000 jobs in January versus a revised 659,000 jobs lost in December. The December job cuts were originally reported at 693,000.
Economists had expected 530,000 private sector job cuts in January, according to the median of 27 forecasts in a Reuters poll, which ranged widely from a drop of 720,000 to losses of 495,000.
The impact of an economic slump that is likely to be the most protracted since the 1930s Great Depression is broadening across a wide range of industries, outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in its monthly report on U.S. job cuts.
Job cuts announced in January totaled 241,749, up 45 percent from December's 166,348. Layoffs were up from 74,986 in the year-ago period.
Record downsizing in the retail sector, with 53,968 layoffs planned, was the biggest area for job cuts and contributed to the overall rise in January's total, Challenger said.
"The variety of industries represented among the top five job-cutting sectors in January is further evidence of how far the impact of this recession has spread," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement.
"Industries that at first appeared to be immune to downturns, such as computer and pharmaceutical, are now rapidly shedding workers," he added.
The financial sector, however, had its lowest one-month total since 2005, with 1,458 job cuts announced in January, down from 39,604 in December.
The Challenger data comes ahead of the government's closely watched non-farm payrolls report on Friday, which is expected to show 525,000 jobs were lost in January, according to the median of forecasts in a Reuters poll. Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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