Corporate layoffs surge to nearly 7-year high

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Led by massive cuts at Citigroup and other banks, major U.S. corporations announced 181,671 layoffs in November, the highest total in nearly seven years, according to a survey conducted by outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas and released on Wednesday.

More than half of the cuts in November were felt in the financial services industry, which announced 91,356 job reductions, including 50,000 at Citigroup (C:

7.71, +0.31, +4.2%) . That's the second highest monthly total for any industry in the 29-year history of the survey, exceeded only by the 96,333 jobs cut by the transportation industry in September 2001 in the aftermath of the hijackings on 9/11.

At 181,671, corporate layoff announcements in November were up 148% compared with a year earlier. It was the most since January 2002. Layoffs were up 61% compared with October's 112,884.

The report comes two days before the Labor Department is scheduled to release its report on employment in November. Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch expect payrolls to fall by 350,000, which would be the biggest decline since May 1980.

So far in 2008, announced layoffs have totaled 1.06 million, up 46% from the same period a year ago. The financial industry has announced 221,000 layoffs this year; the auto industry has cut 121,000.

In November, retailers announced 11,073 job reductions, while the transportation and auto industries announced more than 10,000 each.

The nonscientific Challenger Gray survey covers announcements of job reductions by major companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The figures, which aren't seasonally adjusted, represent only a small fraction of the workers who lose their jobs each month.

In September, for instance, a total of 1.9 million workers were let go, representing about 1.4% of total employment, according to the latest available data from the Labor Department. By comparison, 2.3 million people quit their jobs voluntarily in September.

The layoff announcements as tracked by Challenger Gray could take place immediately or over time. The reductions could be accomplished by voluntary means such as retirements, buyouts or workers leaving for other jobs, and they could be offset by hiring in other divisions of a company.

Rex Nutting is Washington bureau chief of MarketWatch.