Job cuts edge up, still near 10-year low

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of job cuts planned by employers ticked up slightly in September, rebounding from a rock bottom 10-year low reported in August.

Employers said they would cut 37,151 jobs in September, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., a 7% increase from the 34,768 jobs cuts reported in August.

September's cuts are the second smallest monthly total of the year, and cap a quarter that saw the fewest number of jobs eliminated since 2000.

Losses were most severe in the pharmaceutical (6,069) and government and non-profit sectors (11,091).

"The low job-cut numbers we are seeing in almost every sector do not necessarily translate into increased hiring. There is hiring going on in the economy, but it is not enough make a discernable dent in the number of unemployed," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Challenger said the struggling government sector is having an outsized impact on the job market and economy at large.

"Government employers -- at the national, state and local levels -- are typically big contributors to job creation, not only through their own hiring, but also by purchasing goods and services from the private sector. Unfortunately, this massive part of the economic engine simply is not firing on all pistons," he said.

The 11,091 jobs lost in the government and non-profit sector bring its year-to-date total to 123,469, more than double any other industry.

Cost-cutting and restructuring, were cited by employers for 58.3% of cuts.

The Challenger jobs report precedes an unemployment report from the government due Friday.