Planned Job Layoffs Continue At Low Reading

The gist of the Challenger report is that the labor market is healthy. Layoff announcements totaled 38,536 in June, up from 30,157 in May but otherwise one of the lowest readings of the last two years. The energy and industrial sectors are usually at the top of sector layoffs but not in June, replaced by an outsized jump in the financial sector. Jobless claims are very low and so are layoff announcements, facts that support expectations for an improvement in Friday's employment report.