Are Layoffs on the Rise? - East Idaho News
Business & Money

Are Layoffs on the Rise?

  Published at  | Updated at

GETTY B 020111 ManLeavingJob?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1351253283742Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Many big corporations have announced weak third quarter profits, which could have an impact on layoffs. 

The jobs firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says layoff announcements rose nearly 5 percent last month compared to August.  But they are still 71 percent lower than a year ago.

Bloomberg News also reports an increase in job cuts since the beginning of September.

But the situation could get considerably worse if Congress fails to take action to avert the impending “fiscal cliff.”  A study out Friday by the National Association of Manufacturers finds that inaction could lead to the destruction of nearly six million jobs through 2014 and send the unemployment rate up to nearly 12 percent, according to the Washington Post.

Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION