Another Tough Jobs Report

The Challenger Job Report came out this morning and again the jobs picture is getting a little more cloudy.  The layoff count rose to 40,559 in April vs 37,880 in March and vs 36,490 in April last year.  According to the report the education sector took the biggest hit as school districts continue to try to cut costs.


This report coupled with the poor ADP report yesterday [ADP Numbers Disappoint, Precursor for Friday?] which missed forecast by some 64k jobs paints a worrisome picture for the upcoming BLS jobs report tomorrow.



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.