CHICAGO, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Challenger, Gray & Christmas Wednesday reported U.S. corporate layoffs in January fell to the lowest level since last August.
Challenger said employers let go 92,351 staffers in January -- the first time since last August that the monthly total dropped below 100,000.
Last August employers announced 74,150 job cuts.
The Chicago global outplacement firm said planned reductions were down 21 percent from January 2004.
More than a third of January's layoffs were in three sectors: government, financial services and automotive, which each cut more than 10,000 jobs in January.
Telecommunications companies cut fewer than 1,500 jobs in January, but that number is expected to soar in coming months, outplacement firm said.
Merger and acquisition activity was the second-leading cause of layoffs in January, behind cost cutting.
The Challenger data is not seasonally adjusted.
Since January is typically a heavy job-cutting month, the fact that job cuts declined from December "is a sign of job market improvement," Challenger said.
The Challenger survey covers only a small portion of job losses; most small businesses do not announce job reductions. The announced reductions can occur immediately or over time. They can be accomplished through layoffs or voluntary measures, such as retirement.
