Planned layoffs dropped in March

Employent consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas today announced that planned layoffs in the U.S. fell 26 percent in March from February—25 percent lower than March 2005 and the lowest since last April.

"Combined with a lower unemployment rate, it is clear employers are focusing their efforts on worker retention," said John Challenger, the firm's CEO. "The labor market is quickly getting to the point where we will see upward pressure on wages, as employers attempt to attract more workers and retain the ones they have."

Challenger said that that turmoil in the auto industry is having a ripple effect on suppliers and on the communities in which they operate.

The greatest number of layoffs in March were in the telecommunications sector, which announced 11,047 cuts, more than double the sector's cuts in February. The industrial goods sector had the second most cuts at 9,668.