More Americans are joining the ranks of the unemployed.And it's only
going to get worse.
The U.S. Labor Department reported today that the number of workers
filing for unemployment benefits last week increased to 399,000. In
addition, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas,
layoffs announced by U.S. companies last month rose 56 percent. The
number of job cut announcements increased from 80,140 in May to 124,852
in June -- the sixth time in the last seven months that this number
exceeded 100,000.
Companies will continue to cut jobs to improve the bottom line, as
earnings continue to decline. Federated Department Stores, Knight Trading
Group Inc., and WorldCom Inc. all issued earnings warnings today. They
add to the 600 other such warnings issued since late May, according
to Thompson Financial/First Call.
And these numbers won't improve, as the growing wave of job cuts drowns
consumer confidence and spending. If consumers don't spend, companies
don't make money.
