John Challenger of Challenger, Gray & Christmas

Planned job cuts increased for the second consecutive month in February as U.S.-based employers announced workforce reductions totaling 55,356, up 37 percent from 40,430 in January, according to the report released Thursday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

The February total was 7.0 percent higher than the 51,728 job cuts announced the same month a year ago.  It was the highest monthly tally since last November, when announced layoffs reached 57,081.  Continue Reading