Financial sector not leading layoffs yet
TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: The Senate did pass a new version of the bailout last night. We’ll talk more about that in just a moment. At the same time, Wall Street is digesting some tough data. We learned this morning new orders to U.S. factories fell by the largest amount in nearly two years. The government is also saying today applications for unemployment benefits rose to a seven-year high last week. This follows a private report yesterday that found employers cut 95,000 jobs in September. Marketplace’s Dan Grech has more.
Dan Grech: Believe it or not, Wall Street didn’t lead the country in layoffs last month. In fact, the financial industry was fourth behind computers, automobiles and apparel.
John Challenger heads Challenger, Gray and Christmas, which released the survey. He says to give it a few weeks.
John Challenger: With all of the bad news on Wall Street, it’s likely the fourth quarter is going to take a nose dive.
Challenger says Wall Street’s credit crisis will hurt small businesses, too. Those businesses often have to wait months to get paid for their goods. So they rely on short-term loans to cover bills and payroll.
Challenger: If they can’t get those loans, they’re going to be forced to slow down their development, and that’ll lead to layoffs.
Tomorrow, the Labor Department releases its comprehensive employment report. It’s expected to show the economy as a whole shed jobs for a ninth consecutive month in September.
I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
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