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Pink slips proliferate
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December 7, 1998: 11:14 a.m. ET
November Challenger report shows 1998 layoffs poised to break 5-year high
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - U.S. companies shed workers at the fiercest rate in seven years during the last three months, cutting 3,400 positions per business day, a major employment survey revealed Monday.
According to employment consultant firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CGC), U.S. companies have slashed 216,000 jobs since the end of August, peaking in a 33-month high of 91,531 layoffs in October alone.
In November, 51,642 workers were let go, a 9 percent increase from the year-ago figure of 47,241 job cuts.
On average the figures represent 3,432 job cuts per business day over the three-month period.
At the current pace, 1998 layoffs are almost certain to break a 5-year record.
"The dramatic job-cutting spree has turned 1998 into the second-'worst' year for the decade with 574,629 cuts in 11 months, only 40,560 behind the decade's record yearly figure of 615,189 in 1993," CGC said.
So far in December, Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), cereal giant Kellogg Co. (K) and a host of smaller companies have already handed out pink slips. Global aerospace manufacturer Boeing Co. (BA) alone has announced 20,000 new job cuts over the next two years.
Electronics, computers, industrial products and consumer goods led the field in November, plagued by ongoing global economic volatility.
Together with financial services - hurt both by the global situation and a spate of blockbuster mergers - these industries account for 293,599 of all 1998 job cuts, more than half of the total figure.
Moreover, CGC Chief Executive Officer John Challenger forecast more layoffs ahead for the holiday season.
"Downsizing announcements have been explosive since September, many concentrated in major job generators of the economy - steel, oil, semiconductors - suggesting a lot more to come as the impact filters downstream," he said.
"We could see more pre-Christmas job cutting over the next 15 days as companies finalize 1999 budgets, including head counts."
On a regional basis, the Midwest led the November figures with 20,710 layoffs announced. Nearly half of those job cuts - 9,042 - came from Illinois, which led all states in layoffs.
The East and West were nearly tied with 15,429 and 13,690 layoffs respectively. New York reported 8,734 layoffs while in the West California companies shed 6,449 workers and low oil prices forced Texas firms to let 5,485 people go.
In the South, job cuts were comparatively shallow, with Florida leading the region with 552 layoffs.
The news failed to grab the attention of bond traders. After the release, the 30-year Treasury bond was still trading up 16/32 at 103-21/32 to yield 5.01 percent. 
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