More Job Cuts In December

Over 100,000 jobs have already been lost in the month of December with no end in sight, according to CNN Money.  Large companies announcing more layoffs include Bank of America, Dow Chemical, and even now-Belgian beer-maker Anheuser-Busch (sadly, American beer was not saved).  Admittedly, December’s job loss numbers aren’t turning out to be nearly as bad as November’s, but it still stings.

The Good News

The job loss figures aren’t quite as bad as they seem.  Fully one third of the jobs lost so far are from a single employer, Bank of America, as a result of the Merrill Lynch buyout.  Obviously, a lot of redundant jobs would have to be eliminated in this sort of transaction even in a healthy economy, but it seems clear Bank of America is using this as an opportunity to clean house and restructure its cost structure.  Absent Bank of America’s cuts, the job picture doesn’t look quite so horrible.  Hey, you gotta look on the bright side.

Signs Of Recovery, Locally

Anecdotally, I’ve seen signs of renewed strength in the local Atlanta job market the past few weeks.  I have no numbers to back this up, but as an unemployed job hunter it definitely seems as though more companies are at least entertaining the idea of making new hires whereas a few months ago, most companies weren’t even bothering to bring people in for interviews.  This is only my personal observation in one job market, but it gives me hope things will start to improve in the next 6-9 months.