Job cuts increase for first time in six months

The first half of the year ended with a 25 percent surge in planned job cuts to 67,176 in June from 53,716 in May, in what may be new evidence of an economic slowdown.

It was the first time in six months that job cuts increased, according to a monthly report issued Thursday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Despite the June increase, job cuts are still at a much slower pace than a year ago. The June figure was 39 percent lower than the same month last year when employers announced a record high110,996 job cuts.

The 180,580 job cuts announced in the second quarter represent the lowest quarterly figure since 168,875 cuts were tracked in the third quarter of 2000. The second quarter figure is 29 percent lower than the first quarter and 28 percent lower than the same period in 2005.