Employers announced 50,462 layoffs last month

The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms surged in August to their highest in half a year, with industrial goods manufacturers the hardest hit, a report on Thursday showed.

Employers announced 50,462 layoffs last month, up 33.8 percent from 37,701 in July, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The August job cuts were up 57 percent from the same time a year ago. For 2013 so far, employers have announced 347,095 job losses, close to the 352,185 that were seen in the first eight months of last year.

Industrial goods manufacturers saw the biggest layoffs, cutting 22,162 employees, the largest total for the sector since January 2009.

"Heavy job cuts in the industrial goods sector are never a good thing, as they can be indicative of widening cracks in the economy's foundation," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"However, the August surge in industrial goods job cuts was driven largely by falling global demand for mining equipment," he said. Read more >>

Tech layoffs more than doubled in 2nd quarter

Layoffs announced by U.S. employees in the technology sector more than doubled in the second quarter, reaching the highest level in a year, according to new data from consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc.

During the period, the computer, electronics and telecommunications industries announced plans to cut a combined 20,491 positions, up from 8,392 during the first quarter, but down from 39,164 a year earlier.

The second quarter included layoff plans from tech giant International Business Machines Corp. IBM -0.08%  , which is expected to cut as many as 8,000 workers after the company posted disappointing first-quarter earnings, according to Challenger.

Computer firms reported the highest number of planned job cuts--at 16,404--up sharply from 3,526 during the first quarter. Cuts by electronics firms surged 68% to 2,344 from the previous quarter. However, planned telecom cuts were down by half at 1,743. Read more >>