Check out a glimmer of hope on the employment front.
 
Planned layoffs for U.S. firms fell in April to their lowest levels since last October, according to a  report from outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas. 
 
Okay, layoffs are still at recessionary levels, with U.S. employers announcing plans to cut 132,590 jobs in April.
 
But CEO John Challenger says the fact that they are falling could mean that employers are a little more confident about future business conditions.
 
If employers start feeling more confident and stop laying off people, that could spur more confidence in employees and eventually get them to spend more at retailers, which, after all, is what this blog is about.
 
In a report by Discover, the credit card issuer, the number of consumers saying the economy was getting better was 23 percent in April.  While that might not seem like much, it is still 8 percentage points better than in March.
 
Also, 51 percent of consumers said the economy was getting worse, down from 61 percent in March.
 
“Consumers continue to approach their spending with caution, albeit a little less so in April,” said Julie Loeger, senior vice president of brand and product management for Discover Financial Services.  “As they grow more confident in the economy and their finances, consumers may boost their spending; which should help with an economic recovery.”
 
Are these the “green shoots” of an improving economy, or just optimism waiting to get shot down?
 
Also in the basket:
 
Carlsberg Q1 doubles on Eastern Europe gains, cost cuts
 
In Target tussle, a store becomes a battlefield (N.Y. Times)
 
Barneys aiming to close two stores (Wall Street Journal)

(Reuters photo of job fair)

Check Out the drop in job cuts. 

U.S.-based employers announced fewer plans to slash jobs for the second month in a row in March, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
 
In a new report, Challenger said employers announced 150,411 cuts in March, down 19.3 percent from the 186,350 cuts announced in February.  Plans to reduce staff were down in February too, which means we have seen the first two-month decrease in cuts since February-March 2007.

The March cuts were the lowest since October, when 112,884 planned job cuts were announced and come on the heels of a 23-percent decline recorded in February.

Yet, companies are still cutting much more jobs than they did a year ago.  In the first quarter 578,510 job cuts were announced, 188 percent more than the cuts announced in the first three months of 2008 and the largest quarterly total since 585,188 cuts were announced in the fourth quarter of 2001.

The government/non-profit sector set plans to cut more than 25,300 jobs in March, the biggest announcement in any area.
 
“State and local governments across the country are struggling with falling tax revenues as more and more people lose their jobs and homes,” said CEO John Challenger. He said state and local government should start to see “some relief” as the U.S. stimulus plan works its way into the economy.

Also in the basket:

Borders to cut 2009 costs by $120 million

Get “junk” food out of U.S. schools: PTA, diet group

Retail Fear and Closings in Las Vegas (WWD, subscription required)

Boats Too Costly to Keep Are Littering Coastlines (NY Times)

(Photo/Reuters)

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)