Job Cuts Could Be Here To Stay, For A While At Least

If you are thinking that the end of the recession will restore lost jobs in the U.S., think again. A new survey, published in The Wall Street Journal says, those jobs won’t be restored.

The recent survey said 52% of companies that cut jobs plan to employ fewer people in the next three-to-five years than they did prior to the recession’s start. The news for salaries is only slightly better. Among employers who have cut salaries, 55% expect to restore the cuts in the next year. But 20% expect the cuts to be permanent. .

Roughly one-third said they are still planning layoffs, but that was down from 46% in April. The survey comes amid other signs that the rate at which employers are cutting jobs may be slowing. The U.S. shed 345,000 nonfarm jobs in May, about half the average monthly decline for the prior six months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The survey, conducted by the consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc., asked questions of 179 companies in June.