Employers announced plans to cut 36,081 jobs in April, according to a report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. April’s announced cuts were 40.2% below March’s and 1.4% lower than last April’s.
The retail sector led the way, cutting 7,844 jobs in April. This is 28.4% higher than the same period last year. The energy sector continued to hold strong, announcing 674 cuts in April. This is a 65.4% decrease from this point last year when the energy sector had shed 8,339 jobs.
“Most of the cuts in March came from a single announcement, but an increase in large-scale job cut announcements could be on the horizon. With rising wages, near full employment, and solid job creation, we may be in for a market correction over the upcoming months,” said John Challenger, Chief Executive Officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Telecommunications companies reported 333 job cuts in April, 39.1% less than the 10,269 cuts through this point last year.
The services industry shed 4,101 jobs last month. This is a 77.8% increase through this point last year.
Read the Challenger, Gray & Christmas release.
