Planned Job Cuts Drop,Consultant Says

The number of planned job cuts fell 27% in March,following heavy cuts in February,according to outplacement firm Challenger,Gray and Christmas.It's a sign that the labor markets continue to improve,CEO John Challenger said.The statistic is at a 10-month low right now,and things are looking good.On the year,planned cuts dropped 8.8%.
Telecom was the worst monthly sector,with more than 4,000 cuts.On the year,consumer products and transportation,key indicators for the economy,are the best faring sectors.Looking at jobs growth,is something going on or is it just the election?,Mr.Challenger asked.Governments haven't been cutting as many jobs.There were no big cuts at the federal level.
Employers will add 12,390 jobs-up from 10,720 in February.
The private sector's creating a lot of jobs,but we are without the large numbers of construction and government hiring as there usually would be by now in a recovery,Mr.Challenger pointed out.
Challenger,Gray and Christmas is the nation's oldest outplacement consulting organization,providing outplacement programs for executives,middle managers and long term or highly valued employees.

Outplacement Outlook:The Road Back To Full Employment

Companies are holding onto their people now,according to John Challenger of Challenger,Gray&Christmas,the oldest outplacement firm.There are major cuts taking place,however,in the military,post office and state and local government that are unlike anything we've seen in the past decade.Helping our veterans find jobs will be a crucial element of whether the economy stays strong in 2012.
December job cuts fell 1.6% from November as the economy added 200,000 jobs.It's not gangbusters growth.Consumer demand is crucial to job creation.We're dependent on a strong consumer for 70% of the economy.That's the key as we go forward.The consumer is slowly growing at this point,Mr.Challenger noted.
Christina Romer,a former White House advisor and currently a Professor of Economics at the University of California Berkeley,adds that,even at the rate of 200,000 more jobs a month,it still would take us eight years to get back to where we were before the financial crisis.