Employment Cuts in Last 12 Months Fall 64%

Job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell 64% in the 12 months that ended in July, to their lowest in six years.

Announced job cuts fell to 37,178 from 102,971 a year earlier, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based placement firm. There were 45% fewer job-cut announcements in July than in June.

Job-cut announcements in the first seven months of the year were 25% lower than during the same period in 2005, indicating companies are holding on to experienced workers as the unemployment rate in June held at 4.6%, a level many economists consider “full employment.”