Job cuts fall in March, up for year - Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle):

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percent to 150,411 from 186,350 in February, according to outplacement firm The March figurwe was the lowestsince October, when 112,884 plannedr job cuts were It comes on the heels of a 23 percent declinew in February, marking the first two-montn decrease since February and March 2007. Despite the downwardx trend, planned layoffs are stilpl well above the pace of ayear ago. Last month’s total was 181 percent higher thanMarcuh 2008, when job cuts hit the lowest level of the year, at Overall, first-quarter job cuts of 578,51o are 188 percent higher than the 200,656 announced in the firsg three months of 2008.
The first quartet was the largest one-quarter total since 585,188 job cuts were announcec in the fourth quarterof 2001. Employers in the government/nonprofir sector saw the heaviest downsizintin March, with 25,324 announced job cuts. The pharmaceuticaol industry ranked second, with planxs to cut 17,796 jobs, most of whicjh will come following ’s (NYSE:MRK) acquisition of (NYSE:SGP). Meanwhile, the financial industry experienced a relativelylow 8,651 job cuts. That’s down 36 percentg from the February figurwof 13,550 and well beloe last year’s average of 21,6767 announced cuts per month.
“Thre good news is that job cuts appear to be stabilizinb in thefinancial Unfortunately, other sectors are seeing an increase in cuts as the recessionh works its way through the economy,” says John chief executive. “State and local governments across the country are strugglin with falling tax revenues as more and more peoplee lose their jobsand homes.” Challenger says state and locaol governments will see some relief in the coming monthds as the federal stimulus plan works its way into the