Brief: Telecom sector posts most job cuts in August

Computerworld - The summer slowdown in job cutting continued in the U.S. in August, as employers announced 79,925 cuts, 6% fewer than the 85,117 job cuts posted in July, according to Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
The telecommunications sector was the top job-cutting sector for the first time since December 2002, announcing 18,739 job cuts -- the highest number of industry cuts since the 33,801 posted in November 2002.
The computer industry posted 4,378 job cuts in August, while the electronics industry announced 2,001.
August was the fourth consecutive month with fewer than 100,000 announced job cuts; this was the first such four-month period since 2000. The number of cuts announced in August was 32% lower than the 118,067 job cuts announced in the same month last year, according to Challenger.
Employers have announced 795,574 job cuts through the first eight months of the year, down 15% from the 934,560 job cuts announced through August 2002.
"While job cuts have fallen and there have been some positive signs of an uptick in manufacturing, there has yet to be any significant indication of a rebound in capital spending that would support the view that employers will begin hiring en masse," said Rick Cobb, executive vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

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