Employers announced plans to cut 35,369 jobs in February, according to a report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. February’s announced cuts were 20.0% less than January’s and 4.3% lower than last February’s.
The retail sector led the way, cutting 6,106 jobs in February. This is 60.3% higher than the same period last year. The energy sector continued to hold strong, announcing 877 cuts in February. This is a 22.3% decrease from this point last year when the energy sector had shed 1,129 jobs.
“The economy is almost at full employment, and companies are holding on to their workforces. Announced job cuts have been below 50,000 a month for the last 22 months. That’s the longest streak in our tracking,” said John Challenger, Chief Executive Officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc
Telecommunications companies reported 914 job cuts in February, 3.9% less than the 951 cuts through this point last year.
The services industry shed 5,038 jobs last month. This is a 56.9% increase from February 2016.
Read the Challenger, Gray & Christmas release.