Job cut announcements up in October; tech sector hit hard

Computerworld - A September drop in planned job cuts in the U.S. was apparently short-lived, as companies in October announced plans to cut 176,010 jobs, according to a survey released today by international outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The October figure is 151% higher than the 70,057 job cuts announced in September (see story), which had been the lowest monthly total since November 2000, according to the Chicago-based company. The number of job cuts announced in October was the second-highest monthly total of the year, behind 212,704 cuts announced in January.
The good news, if it can be called that, is that while the October figure is up, it's still 27% lower than October 2001, when 242,192 job losses were announced. For the year so far, job cut announcements in 2002 are down 27% from last year, according to the company. Through October, 1,180,627 job cuts have been announced, compared with 1,613,880 last year.
The numbers show that certain industries, especially the technology sector, have been hit the hardest by the cuts. The technology sector accounted for 34% of October's job cuts, according to Challenger. Telecommunications and computers were the industries with the most job cuts announced during the month, with a combined 51,644.
Another 7,942 cuts were announced by electronics and e-commerce companies, for a technology sector total of 59,586.
"The economy desperately needs some type of spark to jump-start a turnaround," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement. "However, companies are simply unwilling to take risks at this point. With the accounting and ethics scandals, falling consumer confidence and a possible war with Iraq, there is too much uncertainty to make any significant moves."