BOOM BOOM BOOM!

A reader alerts me to this, from CNN/Money:

Job cut plans jump in July

Plans by U.S. firms to trim payrolls surge, as hiring plans fall, employment firm says.

The number of job cuts planned by U.S. employers rose in July, while hiring announcements fell for the second straight month, an outplacement firm said Tuesday....

U.S. businesses announced 69,572 job cuts in July, up from 64,343 job cuts in June, a gain of 8 percent, according to Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which keeps track of monthly job-cut announcements....

Robert Brusca, chief economist at Fact & Opinion Economics, ... found that this July's job-cut number was the fourth-highest in the past decade.

"There is not much progress signaled here," Brusca said....

Bad news, although the article gropes for silver linings (last July was worse) and explanations (it's probably seasonal, and -- I am not making this up -- maybe one reason for sluggish hiring last month was Ronald Reagan's funeral).