Mubasher: Employers in the US announced plans to cut 53,073 jobs in November, according to a recent report on Thursday.

Job cuts in November fell 29.8% from 75,644 in October, but 51.5% higher than 35,038 job cuts in the same month last year, consultancy firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas said.

Last month, General Motors (GM) said it would axe 15% of its workforce, around 14,000 employees, while Germany’s pharmaceutical major Bayer announced 12,000 cuts after its merger with Monsanto.

In the same vein, Japan’s Toshiba announced plans to slash around 7,000 workers.

Over the past 11 months, employers have announced 494,775 cuts, rising 28% from 386,347 over the same period last year and marking the highest 11-month total since 2015.

Job cut announcements this year are averaging around 45,000 per month, with the past four months averaging more than 55,000, compared with last full-year’s average of under 35,000 and 2016 when they averaged under 44,000 the consultancy’s vice president Andrew Challenger said.

“This upward trend is indicative of a potential economic shift and could spell a downturn,” Challenger noted.

However, as the job market remains currently strong, “the tight labor market and high demand for skilled workers mean most of those who find themselves unemployed have a good chance of finding new positions,” he added.

Retailers continued to lead in job cut plans with 96,504 job cuts this year, followed by telecom firms’ 59,518 announcements.

Financial companies cut 41,351 jobs, while health care and health care products manufacturers announced 41,351 cuts.