US job cuts see 79 per cent jump in October: report

US employers announced plans to drop 112,884 workers from payrolls in October, the highest in nearly five years, reports quoting outplacement consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.

October cuts were 79 per cent above the same month last year and the largest since January 2004, the report said.

Employers have cut 875,974 jobs in 2008, up 14 per cent from the 768,264 lost in all of 2007, Challenger said, adding, it was the the largest 10-month total since 2003.

The job losses came from heavy downsizing in the financial and automotive sectors, which together contributed to the 19 per cent rise in job cuts from September's total of 95,094, the firm said.

Chicago-based Challenger, said the figures were not adjusted for seasonal effects.

The US economy, in fact, shrank 0.3 per cent in the third quarter as consumer spending slowed and signs of a deeper slump emerged.
 
''Job cuts are now rising across the board,'' John A Challenger, chief executive officer of the placement company, said in a statement. ''Companies not only have been hit hard by this downturn, but they do not see a rebound any time in the near future.''

Of the 25 industry categories tracked, 18 showed rise in job losses compared with last year, Challenger said.

The Challenger report does not always correlate with figures on first-time jobless claims or employment as reported by the government.