Planned U.S. layoffs fell by 8.1 percent in April, signaling a push by employers to retain workers as job cuts continue to slip, according to a report released on Tuesday.
Despite’s Wall Street’s view that the economy is slowing, employers planned fewer jobs cuts for the fourth consecutive month in April, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an employment consulting firm.
The firm said total announced layoffs in April were 59,688 jobs, compared with 64,975 planned cuts in March.
Overall in 2006 to date, U.S. employers have announced 315,566 job cuts, 8.5 percent lower than the 344,995 job cuts in the first 4 months of 2005.
The biggest job losses during the month came from the auto industry, with 13,334 cuts announced. Faced with growing competition from Asian-based rivals, U.S. automakers such as General Motors Corp. have been pushing ahead with plans to cut costs.