U.S. job cuts down 4.7 percent from '06

CHICAGO, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. job cuts rose 15.9 percent but are still 4.7 percent lower than a year ago, a private employment report said Wednesday.

Payroll reductions in the auto and energy industries replaced housing-related layoffs as the top sectors behind the rise to 73,140 job cuts from October's 63,114, outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said.

Employers announced 76,773 job cuts in November 2006, Challenger Gray said.

The 723,848 planned job cuts announced by employers so far this year are 7.8 percent lower than 2006's 11-month pace of 785,179, the firm said.

"Unless we see more than 110,000 job cuts in the final month of the year, it appears that annual job cuts will decline for the fifth time since reaching a peak in 2001, Chief Executive Officer John Challenger said.

The financial sector, hardest hit by the U.S. subprime mortgage financial crisis, announced just 6,953 job cuts in November, down from an average 24,479 cuts during the previous three months, the firm said.

Citigroup Inc. -- whose shares have fallen 46 percent this year, wiping out roughly $129 billion of market value, due to the crisis -- is widely expected to announce layoffs resulting in up to 45,000 job cuts, Challenger said.