Arizona mostly avoids big layoffs in first half of 2016

• Arizona had relatively few layoffs in the first half of 2016, an outplacement consultancy reported
• Many of the big job reductions have come in the oil business, computers and retailing
• Only two Arizona employers announced layoffs of more than 100 people from January to June

Arizona employers mostly avoided large-scale layoffs during the first half of 2016, with the state ranking among the bottom 10 for job reductions.

Only 263 Arizona jobs were eliminated from January through June based on corporate announcements that could be broken down by specific locations, reported Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement-consultancy. That put Arizona seventh lowest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

All told, employers announced 313,754 total job losses in the first half, up from 287,672 over the first six months of 2015. Texas led the way with 73,941 announced layoffs, reflecting weakness in the energy business and the computer industry. California was second with 43,526 layoffs, followed by Arkansas, North Carolina, Illinois and New York — each with more than 10,000. Nebraska had the lowest with just 10 job reductions.

Nationally, Walmart Stores had the single largest layoff affecting 16,000 positions, as it announced plans to close 269 stores but none in Arizona. Semiconductor maker Intel announced 12,000 national job reductions, followed by National Oilwell Varco (11,850), Dell and Schlumberger (10,000 each). National Oilwell Varco later announced a second round of layoffs affecting 6,000 jobs.

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Some of the national layoffs will affect Arizona, such as Sports Authority, which said it would close seven Arizona stores. Challenger, Gray & Christmas attributed reductions to the state where each corporation is headquartered if the company didn't break down the numbers by individual locations. Sports Authority's layoffs nationally are expected to total around 3,400.

In Arizona, the biggest announced layoffs were made by LivingSocial, an internet marketing site, and Waste Management. Each company said it would trim 120 positions — in Tucson and Phoenix, respectively. Arizona's unemployment rate of 5.6 percent in May remains above the U.S. average (4.7 percent in May and 4.9 percent in June), yet Arizona has avoided most of the pain in the oil business and much of it in technology. The leading industries for first-half layoffs nationally were energy (77,211 jobs), retail (42,095) and computers (39,589).

The pace of job-cutting has slowed in recent months, with 132,834 planned layoffs in the second quarter compared with 180,920 in the first.

"It is not unusual to see a slowdown in job cuts during the summer months," said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement. "Other factors are definitely contributing to the decline, the biggest one being the precipitous drop-off in job cuts attributed to low oil prices."

Yet in the computer business, layoffs have tripled this year compared with the same stretch of 2015.

“We have seen large-scale job cuts from Intel and Dell this year, as well as numerous smaller cuts from tech firms including Seagate Technology," Challenger said. "The very nature of the technology sector means that these firms must remain agile and able to shift directions on a dime to meet constantly changing advances and changing consumer demands."

Reach the reporter at russ.wiles@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8616.