Citigroup announced more than 50,000 in job cuts today, capping a difficult year for professionals in financial services, and one in which total layoffs could surpass 1 million, according to  Challenger, Gray and Christmas, the Chicago-based outsourcing firm. To help laid-off workers, Challenger is offering free phone consultations for job-seekers on December 29 and 30 from 9am to 5pm CST. For free advice, call (312) 332-5790.

Planned job cuts announced by employers have steadily risen throughout 2008. The first quarter saw 200,656 job cuts. Layoffs climbed 37 percent in the second quarter to 275,292. In the third quarter, job-cut announcements reached 287,142, the largest quarterly total since 2005. (Keep in mind, though, that companies may not always follow through on planned cuts; Challenger only tracks the announcement.)

Challenger expects heavy downsizing to continue through the first half of 2009, as measures to solve the financial crisis take time to work their way through the economy. Meanwhile, job seekers have seen their searches lengthen by nearly one month, according to the Challenger Job Market Index. The median job search among those winning positions in the third quarter lasted nearly 4.4 months. It’s one reason why boosting your emergency fund makes sense in a recession. Here are some other ideas to help recession-proof your finances.

• A Primer on Rate Cuts
• How to Get a Raise in a Soft Economy
• The Habits of Financially Peaceful People
• College Savings and Financial Aid Eligibility
• Retirement Worries Grow

This entry was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 10:29 am and is filed under career, emergency fund. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.