Planned Layoffs Jump in January After Q4 Productivity Spikes

Planned layoffs soared in January amid a slew of otherwise hopeful news regarding the state of the U.S. job market. However, analysts were quick to point out that such trends are usual for the first month of the year - the most active period for job cuts.

According to a report released this week by outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christma, planned job cuts climbed 28 percent in January to reach 53,486. Challenger pointed out that January has averaged 101,084 announced layoffs between 1993 and 2011.

The report authors blamed a slew of retail layoffs on restructurings, store closings and cost-cutting measures, but not the seasonal exit of workers after the holiday shopping season.

"At the same time, financial services companies announced plans to cut 7,611 jobs in January, the highest since September, when Bank of America said it would slash 30,000 jobs," reports Matt Egan for Fox Business.

The study comes the same day as a report from the Labor Department that showed worker productivity increased by an annual rate of 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of last year. However, wages and salaries expanded at a faster pace than productivity, helping to drive up labor costs by 1.2 percent, according to the Associated Press.