If there's any bright side to the May survey results it is that the number of monthly layoffs has seemed to level off in the past couple months. From January through March the total number of job cuts was 168,695, an average of 56,232 per month. But, since then, there have been fewer major layoff announcements. The April layoff total fell to 30,810 and the May number was slightly greater at 30,845. Challenger attributes this to localized pockets of low unemployment and labor shortages. So, perhaps the firing/hiring cycle has hit a low point and, for the immediate future, the job market will improve. That's what last Friday's May nonfarm payroll statistics seemed to be saying.

On another positive note, it looks like past re-structuring programs at some of the major corporations must have been successful, because now some of the downsizing leaders of the past few years are leading the way in hiring new employees. Since 1993, Sears, IBM, AT&T, Boeing, and Xerox accounted for 249,836 layoffs. This year the combined hiring plans of these five firms total 46,000.

Byline: Lafferty (MF Merlin)