The number of planned layoffs at American employers declined 23% in August after rising for three straight months, with the government sector again leading the job cuts, a report showed Wednesday.
Employers announced 51,114 planned job cuts, down from 66,414 in July, according to the report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a consulting firm. Planned cuts in July had marked a 16-month high.
At the same time, the pace of private sector job growth slowed in August for the second month in a row, with employers adding 91,000 positions, according to a separate report by ADP, a payrolls processor.
The reports come ahead of the government’s much more comprehensive labor market report, which will be released on Friday and includes both public and private sector employment. Analysts forecast the report will show the economy added 75,000 jobs in August, slowing from July’s 117,000 rise.
On the layoffs front, the August planned job cuts were up 47% from August 2010, when they were at 34,768, according to the Challenger survey. For 2011 so far, employers have announced 363,334 cuts, somewhat fewer than the 374,121 cuts announced in the first eight months of 2010.
More job cuts are expected at the federal government level with pressure to cut the federal budget, the report said. Cuts in the government sector accounted for 18,426 of the announced layoffs in August and 105,406 for the year so far.
