U.S. Companies Cut Fewer Jobs Last Year

American companies reported 15 percent fewer job cuts in 1995 than the year before, despite a surge in December, a well-known job tracking firm said Thursday.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said 439,882 job cuts were reported last year, down from 516,069 in 1994 and 615,186 in 1993.

Companies announced 55,237 eliminations in December, up from 27,516 in 1994.

John A. Challenger, executive vice president of the Chicago-based company, said the December results were shocking. “Clearly, the spirit of the holidays disappeared last month from many corporate headquarters,” he said.

The aerospace and defense industry announced the most cuts, followed by financial, retail, telecommunications and transportation companies.