CNBC:Layoffs, Planned Job Cuts Both Improve in April

It's not good news, it's less bad news. Here's a different take on it: we're beginning to come to the limit of how many workers we can cut before we completely shut down a company. Everyone who is left at a company is completely overstretched. Of course the pace of firings is going to slow. It can't continue without wiping out the entire workforce.

The big fear, and the thing that would be a lot worse is if people don't start getting rehired. People are languishing on umemployment because there is no one hiring. That will ramp up foreclosures and make banks' balance sheets much worse.

steve, state and local governments are largely just beginning their fiscal year. they have planned huge cuts. until and if a much larger stimulus bill for the states passes, this unemployment has just begun. but i'm glad fewer people got axed this month. the challenger report has been way off, btw, not sure why, even this report seems kind of screwy.

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/05/other-employment-reports.html

and, your good buddy didn't have much positive to say about employment.

“The most recent information on the labor market -- the number of new and continuing claims for unemployment insurance through late April -- suggests that we are likely to see further sizable job losses and increased unemployment in coming months,” Bernanke said yesterday in testimony to the congressional Joint Economic Committee.

Still, today’s report showed that on a month-to-month basis, the number of planned job cuts fell 12 percent from the 150,411 announced in March. The figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal effects, so economists prefer to focus on year-over- year changes.

The yoy figure is down 47%.

Planned job cuts improve = fewer jobs.

Steve, you really have to learn some Math.

Its like saying the guy is doing better because he's bleeding to death more slowly.

You have to start somewhere. It won't turn on a dime.

LMAO... .watch out for the WWWWWWW(ish) type of recovery, whereby all the "I missed" the big run-up jumps back in, gets clocked with a upper cut and staggers back for a little more and gets chocked out....

Greatest RE bubble in modern history gets popped 18 months ago... it's all clear... go get some more salad shooters WHOOTT! LMAO....

Can't argue w/ anyone w/ hard data... it's just a gut thing :), SteveF... just add time :) and the truth will be written.

The Cleveland Fed finds the U3 a bit too rosy during these trying economic times, argues that the U6 is far more relevant now.

http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/trends/2009/0509/03ecoact.cfm

"LMAO... .watch out for the WWWWWWW(ish) type of recovery, whereby all the "I missed" the big run-up jumps back in, gets clocked with a upper cut and staggers back for a little more and gets chocked out"

Looks like thats what we have now... big inflows into stock funds.