U.S. employers announced plans to reduce payrolls by 67,611 jobs in March, a 61 percent increase from February, outplacement consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said Thursday.
The sharp rise in March job cuts contrasts with a steep decline in lost jobs in February, which hit a four-year low, Challenger Gray said. February announced job cuts totaled 42,090.
Despite the increase in job losses in March and January, the pace of downsizing is well below year-ago levels, the firm said.,
Job cuts in the latest month were down 55 percent from March 2009, when 150,411 planned layoffs were announced.
The first-quarter total of 181,183 is 69 percent lower than the 578,510 layoffs announced in the first quarter of 2009. The first quarter is, in fact, the lowest Q1 total since 2000.Â
Government staff reductions, particularly from the U.S. Postal Service, led the March 2010 job reductions, Challenger Gray said. The rest were from state and municipal agencies, including school districts.
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