In 2010, Job Cuts Fell to Lowest Levels in 13 Years

During 2010, experts began to predict that the United States economy was finally beginning to recover. But for the many Americans dealing with unemployment, bankruptcy and foreclosure, that recovery seemed to be moving slowly. However, according to a new private survey, progress was, in fact, made in 2010, as employers cut the fewest number of jobs since 1997. However, as job growth remained slow throughout the year, there is reason to be hesitant about declaring that the economy is recovering.

In 2010, employers had almost 530,000 planned firings, which is down 59 percent from 2009’s seven-year high. In December, employers announced 32,000 job cuts, a 34 percent drop from November and a 29 percent decrease from December 2009. In addition, December saw the fewest number of job cuts in any month since June of 2000.

Despite this apparent good news, there is still a huge disparity between the number of people employed and unemployed. In December 2009, employers announced plans to hire almost 36,000 people. In comparison, employers planned to hire only 10,575 employees in December 2010, which was 15,000 less than in November.

According to a report from the Labor Department, U.S. companies may have added as many as 150,000 jobs in December, up from 39,000 in November. However, economists are predicting that the unemployment rate will remain above nine percent for the majority of 2011, with an average of 9.4 percent, according to John Challenger of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Hiring in the private sector is expected to once again be slow and steady in 2011,” he said, with debt, bankruptcy and foreclosure as a likely result.

Companies have already announced plans to cut jobs in 2011, led by government and non-profit entities, both of which continue to suffer from mounting budget shortfalls.

Source: Business Week, “Employers in 2010 Announced Fewest U.S. Job Cuts in 13 years”, Courtney Schlisserman, 5 January 2011