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Job cuts fall to 6-month low
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May 6, 1999: 10:19 a.m. ET
Challenger report says job reductions down 21% in April as pay stagnated
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The number of U.S. job cuts fell to a six-month low in April as the economy continued to expand rapidly, the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said Thursday.
U.S. companies announced 54,399 job cuts in April, compared with 68,984 reductions in March, according to the monthly Challenger Employment Report.
"The unprecedented strength of the economy is making it possible for companies to expand and make a profit amid falling prices," said John A. Challenger, CEO of the job data tracking firm. "The biggest benefactors of this phenomenon, of course, are employees who are spared from cost-cutting initiatives."
But the situation presents a mixed bag for American workers. While employees have more job stability, many are seeing little of any pay increases. Flat wages are offset, however, by low inflation rates that are keeping expenditures on homes, cars and other goods in check.
The volatile computer industry recorded the most job cuts in April, with 10,091. The electronics industry was second, with 8,925 cuts, while consumer goods sector recorded 7,563 reductions.
The April figure was the lowest since November, when companies announced 51,642 job cuts.
On a year-to-year basis, there were 12 percent more job cuts in April 1999 than in the 1998 period. So far in 1999, employers have cut 264,920 jobs, 41 percent more than in the first four months of 1998, Challenger said.
So far in 1999, California has led all states in job reductions, with 36,897, followed by Connecticut with 24,187 and Illinois with 20,853, Challenger said. 
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