Microsoft Announces More Layoffs as October Tech Job Cuts Take Huge Leap

The monthly Challenger, Gray & Christmas numbers on announced job cuts are in. Although in general cuts dropped by 16 percent, high tech fared far worse as Microsoft plans additional layoffs past the 5,000 anticipated earlier this year. Announced October reductions were up more than ten-fold from September and the tech sector numbers were a full third of the month's total. And all of that is in the face of the highest US unemployment numbers in 26 years. Here's a summary of the months so far:

Sector	January	February	March	April	May	June	July	August	September	October
Electronics	11,050	11,065	11,500	6,608	1,423	4,103	1,343	1,562	683	10,882
Computer	22,330	3,960	5,290	1,702	15,384	2,795	1,684	75	494	7,089
Telecom	13,056	5,666	250	262	812	802	17,601	749	617	226
Total	46,436	20,691	17,040	8,572	17,619	7,700	20,628	2,386	1,794	18,197

Although things seemed to be improving for the sector in September, October had a big hit. Here's a graph of the trends:

Clearly the tech sector isn't out of the woods, and so pronouncements like those of Cisco CEO John Chambers that there are signs of a recovery must be taken with a shaker of salt.

Executioner image via stock.xchng user sateda, standard site license.

Erik Sherman

Erik Sherman is a widely published writer and editor who also does select ghosting and corporate work. The views expressed in this column belong to Sherman and do not represent the views of CBS Interactive. Follow him on Twitter at @ErikSherman or on Facebook.

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