US companies sharply scaled back plans to cut jobs in May, raising hope for a turnaround in the stagnant labour market, an industry survey showed today.
Employers announced a 30-month low of 68,623 job cuts in May, down 53 per cent from April, said the survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
Job creation numbers may show a recovery when unemployment figures for May are released Friday, but the outlook for the underlying economy remained uncertain, Challenger said.
"The character of the economy in the last year has been start-and-stop. Right now, the overall job-cut trend is downward," it said.
"It is highly likely that companies will now take a breather, with the job-cutting frenzy of the last three months abating," he forecast.
Workers in the transport industry were hardest hit, with 9,226 job cuts announced, followed by the government/non-profit sector with 9,180 and industrial goods with 7,176, the survey showed.
In April, the unemployment rate rose to 6.0 per cent from 5.8 per cent in March as war-shaken businesses axed 48,000 jobs, government figures showed last month.
AFP