Shop Talk

Check out the disappearing jobs.
 
Job cuts in November soared to their highest monthly level since 1992, according to outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
 
A total of 181,671 job cuts were announced in the month, 61 percent more than in October, the firm said.
 
Employers have now announced 1,057,645 job cuts in 2008, just shy of the 1,072,054 layoffs announced in 2005, which was the last time that annual job cuts surpassed 1 million, Challenger said.
 
The financial sector was the biggest culprit, led by Citigroup’s plan to cut more than 50,000 jobs.
 
But job cuts are happening all over and retail lost another 11,000 jobs last month.
 
Things are also likely to get worse in the job market. December is typically one of the larger job-cutting months of the year, CEO John Challenger noted.
 
Also in the basket:
 
Crocs and Skechers settle patent suit
 
US retail tracker slashes holiday forecast
 
Shalom, Christmas Shoppers: Israelis Sell Cosmetics, Toys at the Mall (WSJ)
 
(Reuters photo)