Employers announced plans to cut 43,310 jobs in March, according to a report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. March’s announced cuts were 17% more than February’s. The month’s figure was 2% lower than March 2016.
The retail sector has led the way this year in job cuts, with 38,464 so far this year. This is 19% higher than the same period last year. The industry has, however, announced over 121,000 new jobs this year.
The energy sector, on the other hand, has reported only 7,880 job cuts so far this year. This is an 84% decline in job cuts compared to this point last year.
“Cuts in the energy sector, which started en masse in mid-2014, were still occurring in the first quarter of 2016. The energy industry is no longer bleeding jobs, which is partly why job cut announcements have trended down,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of global outplacement and executive coaching consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Telecommunications companies were second to only retailers with 9,782 job cuts through March, 184% more than the total through the first quarter of 2016.
“Telecommunications providers, like other tech companies, are undergoing restructuring, losing jobs to automation, and pivoting to new projects,” said Challenger.
Read the Challenger Gray & Christmas release.