John Challenger Months Quotations

October and November were the second- and third-heaviest months of the year for layoffs, ... We returned to the levels of job cutting we saw in 2001, which was the heaviest year we've ever tracked.

Frankly, the September decline was somewhat surprising, considering that the last four months of the year historically have been the heaviest, as employers finalize budgets and business plans for the coming year,

Businesses are starting to ramp up spending on new equipment and technology and consumer spending looked relatively strong in January, despite predictions that they were tapped out. This may mean fewer job cuts in the months ahead as companies try to meet the steady demand for their products.

Retailers are being forced to turn into discounters at all levels, and that early transformation to a discounting posture is putting great pressure on profits. Retailers make a good percentage of their profitability in the last two months of the year. This year those earnings are going to be under real pressure. They'll be fighting to keep costs down.

We personally heard desperation in the voices of callers to our firm, ... On an average, callers thought it would take at least five and a half months to become re-employed.

There has been a remarkable reversal since last fall and winter, when we saw several consecutive months in which departures numbered over 100.

The very heavy downsizing reported in November is more confirmation that the effects of the Sept. 11 attack on the economy have been substantial. In the eight years we have tracked job cuts data, the downsizing for the last three months has been at levels never before seen.

The good news for workers is that job cuts during the summer months typically decline from the beginning of the year. If that occurs this year, we could see job-cut figures fall to their lowest level in several years.

Consumers and companies have been gobbling up new technology in the last 12 to 24 months ... Their technology cup is overflowing, which may lead to a cooling off period until a major technology breakthrough comes along.