Challenger survey: Job cuts essentially flat in October

CHICAGO The monthly Challenger Job Cuts Survey shows planned layoffs rose slightly in October.

The survey by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas found employers announced plans to cut 45,730 jobs last month. That was up 13.5 percent from September, but CEO John Challenger says it was down 4.2 percent from a year ago -- the first year-over-year decline in five months.

For the first ten months of the year, job cuts have totaled 433,114 -- virtually the same as the number for the first ten months of last year.

Challenger says job cuts are on track to end the year slightly below the 2012 total, which was the lowest 12-month number since 1997.