U.S. layoffs rise by 44 pct in April vs March-survey
Reuters

Planned U.S. layoffs jumped 44 percent in April, led by a surge in financial sector job cuts after Citigroup announced it would eliminate 17,000 positions, an independent report showed on Wednesday.

Announced layoffs totaled 70,672 in April, up from 48,997 in March and about 18 percent more than the 59,688 announced in the same month a year earlier, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an employment consulting firm.

The financial sector now leads all others in job cuts for the year with 50,221. The automotive sector ranked second with 27,570 announced job cuts this year, Challenger said.

Financial sector cuts in April included more than 6,000 resulting from a weak housing market and its impact on mortgage lenders, Challenger said

"Coming on the heels of a lower-than-expected GDP reading in the first quarter, the April job cut surge is likely to further increase concerns about the strength of the economy and the job market," John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.

"Granted, job cuts were dominated by one sector -- financial. However, it is a sector that is critical to the economy and any sign of dramatic change there could indicate wider problems," he said.

Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research in April said it would eliminate 17,000 jobs, or about 5 percent of its work force, in a broad restructuring designed to cut costs and boost profit. For details, see [ID:nN11415488]

April marked the first time in seven months that the monthly job cuts were higher than in the corresponding month a year earlier. The April job cut figure is the highest since the 84,014 announced in February, the report said.

Employers have announced 266,658 job cuts year to date, 15 percent fewer than the same period a year ago.

The Challenger report comes as the markets await April non-farm payrolls data on Friday, the next key marker for Federal Reserve interest rate policy.

The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters calls for April job growth of 100,000 after a surprisingly strong 180,000 job gain in March, but estimates vary widely.