U.S. layoffs rose 33 pct in Feb vs Jan-survey

NEW YORK, March 1 (Reuters) - Planned U.S. layoffs rose 33 percent to a five-month high in February, as weakness in the housing market and auto industry seemed to spread into other sectors, an independent report showed on Thursday.

Announced layoffs totaled 84,014 in February, up from 62,975 in January but 4 percent fewer than the 87,437 announced a year earlier, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an employment consulting firm.

The February job cut figure is the highest since the 100,315 announced in September, the report said.

The U.S. automotive industry led all other sectors in terms of planned job cuts last month, with 18,209 or 22 percent of the total, Challenger said.

"Considering that February is a short month, made even shorter by two widely observed holidays, a 33 percent jump in job-cut announcements is particularly surprising," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a statement. "Clearly, the struggles in the American auto industry and housing market have not subsided."

Challenger added, "It appears that the weakness in these two areas is spreading to other areas of the economy, including the food industry, which announced 16,215 job cuts in February and is now the second-leading job-cutting industry for the year."

The report also showed increased job cuts in the telecommunications and computer industries, which rely heavily on consumer demand.

"The job cuts in these areas may indicate that companies are bracing for a slowdown in spending or at least shifts in what consumers are buying," Challenger said.

This report comes before the government's weekly initial jobless claims later on Thursday, which is expected to show there were 325,000 new claims in the latest week down from 332,000 in the previous period, according to a Reuters survey.