The Labor Department reported today that the unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent from 7.8 percent in
December.
Planned job cut announcements by Illinois employers rose from December, according to a report released Thursday by Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Employers announced 1,488 planned cuts last month, a six-fold increase from the month before. The biggest cuts in January were at United Continental Holdings, which announced 600 planned cuts; and Ryan International Airlines, which announced 209.
And today Cardinal Health announced that it is moving its surgical kit production operation from Waukegan to South Carolina and Mexico, costing 650 local jobs.
