According to the most recent report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc., the numbers of planned layoffs being announced by employers last month surged.

Planned layoffs: June vs. July, 2011

Thats 59.4% higher than the same time last year:

Planned layoffs July, 2010 vs. July, 2011

Job cuts at Merck, Borders, Cisco Systems, Lockheed Martin and Boston Scientific accounted for 57% of the July total. July marks the first month in the last seven when the private sector shed more jobs than the government sector did.

Pharma and retail make up the largest sectors.

What makes this latest report so ominous is that the majority of these cuts come from industries that have experienced low levels of layoffs compared to other industries.

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