Econoday Economic Report: Challenger Job-Cut Report August 5, 2009

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Challenger Job-Cut Report

Released On 8/5/2009 7:30:00 AM For July, 2009

	Prior	Actual
Announced Layoffs - Level	74,393	97,373

Highlights
In a reminder that employment lags economic recovery, Challenger's July count of layoff announcements jumped to 97,373 vs. 74,393 in June. Trouble is centered squarely in transportation where factory shutdowns and reopenings in the auto sector have been skewing jobless claims badly for the last month. Announcements don't correlate immediately to actual layoffs but today's report is not a plus for Friday's monthly jobs report. ADP's count, which aims directly at monthly changes in payrolls, will be posted at 8:15 ET.

Definition
This monthly report counts and categorizes announcements of corporate layoffs based on mass layoff data from state departments of labor. The job-cut report must be analyzed with caution. It doesn't distinguish between layoffs scheduled for the short-term or the long term, or whether job cuts are handled through attrition or actual layoffs. Also, the job-cut report does not include jobs eliminated in small batches over a longer time period. Unlike most economic data, this series is not adjusted for seasonal variation. Why Investors Care

The Challenger Job-Cut Report could serve as a leading indicator for new jobless claims. However, not all layoff announcements result in near term job losses. For instance, companies often announce layoffs that will result in job losses but not immediately. Companies would simply not replace workers who quit voluntarily.
Data Source: Haver Analytics

2009 Release Schedule

Released On: 1/7 2/4 3/4 4/1 5/6 6/3 7/1 8/5 9/2 10/1 11/4 12/2

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