Dayton Business Journal...
Ohio’s mass layoff up 55% in February
Thursday, March 8, 2012 

Ohio layoffs continued to rise last month, as the rest of the nation saw a slight drop. 

Employers in Ohio announced 5,566 job cuts in February, up more than 55 percent from the 3,577 cuts in January. 

Nationwide, job cuts declined to 51,728, down from 53,486 in January, according to the latest report on downsizing activity from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.    , a global outplacement firm. 

However, last month’s total was up 2 percent when compared to February 2011, when employers announced 50,702 job cuts. 

Consumer products and transportation jobs have seen the largest portion of cuts this year. Last year, most of the cuts were in the government sector. 

“It is too soon to say that the government sector is out of the woods when it comes to layoffs,” John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a news release. “However, recent gains in employment across many states are undoubtedly helping to boost payroll tax revenue.” 

For the year, Ohio ranks third among all 50 states in terms of total layoffs. Texas is first with 25,028. 

Announced job cuts also rose in Indiana to 494, up from 184 in January. And Kentucky’s announced jobs cuts more than tripled to 1,252, compared to 400 in January. 

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