Highlights of the December 2015 US Challenger layoffs data report 7 January 2016

  • Cuts -27.6% vs -13.9% prior
  • Total 2015 layoffs 598,510 vs 483,171 in 2014

Lowest job cuts for any December since the survey began in 1993 and this month is the lowest since June 2000

The finance industry were the main ones to prime layoffs this month

Energy is unsurprisingly top of the industries that have cut this year standing at 94.4k vs 14.26k in 2014

Hiring intentions also rose to 11.4k vs 10.0k in Nov

This report can be a bit flaky at times as it can be skewed by announcements of large layoffs by big firms. Overall the trend adds to the strong jobs picture in the US