Announced job cuts by U.S. employers climbed 19 percent in January from a year earlier as businesses attempted to reduce costs, according to a report released today by Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a private placement firm, Bloomberg reported.

Layoffs announced last month rose to 74,986 from 62,975 in January 2007, Challenger said today. The figures are not adjusted for seasonal effects, so economists prefer to focus on year-over-year changes instead of monthly figures. The number of planned job cuts jumped 69 percent last month from 44,416 in December, the report said.

“Job losses were still concentrated in housing-related sectors,” John Challenger, CEO of the placement company, said in a statement. “If the economy dips into a full-blown recession, it will likely be caused by a drop in consumer spending and the effects of the high price of energy.”

Financial firms led the reductions last month with 15,789 layoffs, more than one-fifth of the total. Construction-related companies, including builders, shed 1,245 jobs in January, and automotive industry cuts accounted for 7,142 announcements.

The report is consistent with government figures released last week that showed the United States lost jobs in January for the first time in more than four years. The Challenger report on job cuts does not always correlate with figures on first-time jobless claims or employment as reported by the government.