Internet Company Job Cuts Down Slightly in Feb.

Job cuts at Internet companies fell in February for the first time in eight months, according to a survey by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Internet job losses have fallen 9% to 11,649 so far this month from a record level of 12,828 cuts in January, the Chicago-based job placement firm said. The numbers are based on layoff notices and on corporate filings such as 10-Q documents. Even with the drop, Challenger has recorded 65,992 layoffs since it started keeping count in December 1999, with 24,477 coming in the first two months of this year. Job cuts for online advertisers registered the biggest spike in layoffs this month, up 57% to 2,874, the report showed. “The biggest threat to Internet firms right now is a dramatic decline in revenue from online advertising,” Chief Executive John Challenger said. He said that sites that serve “as the jumping-off points” for Internet users, such as Yahoo Inc. and Excite Inc., announced 1,516 job cuts this month and 945 last month.