Newspaper Layoffs in May Total 1,084 People; 10,014 Newspaper Employees Are Out of Work in 2009

Updated at 10:24 a.m. Eastern, June 1, with Associated Press layoff of 263 people on May 20.

Newspapers and wire agencies laid off 1,084 people in May, the fewest in a month so far this year, pushing the annual total above the 10,000 mark. The San Diego Union-Tribune accounted for 192 people as it reduced it staff by 18 percent three days after Platinum Equity, a Beverly Hills private equity firm, completed its acquisition of the paper from its longtime owner, the Copley Press Inc. In addition, the Associated Press announced that it was buying out 263 employees.

A slightly improving economy could be one reason for the slowdown in layoffs. But ad revenues are still down, and the end of June will mark the closing of the second quarter, which would be a prime time for management to trim staffs even more. During the first four months of the year, an average 2,198 people were let go each month. As of June 1, the total number of people laid off in newspapers stood at 10,014.

These numbers most likely do not reflect the total number of people laid off, as some newspapers have withheld information about their staff cuts, most notably Advance Publications, Gannett and Lee Enterprise.

In April, 1,381 people were laid off from newspapers in the United States. At least 3,943 people lost their jobs in newspapers in March. Here is a list of the newspapers that cut 1,492 people in February. Here are the newspapers that reported 2,256 layoffs in January.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.

May 29
Detroit Media Partnership, which oversees the business operations at The Detroit News and The Detroit Free-Press, 90 people. In addition, there will be 39 layoffs at the newspapers.

May 27
Tampa Tribune, 24 people.
USA Today, four advertising sales reps.
Nieman Narrative Digest, one person.

May 22
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 39 people in circulation and classified advertising departments.
Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch, 24 people.
Palm Beach (Fla.) Daily News, 11 people.

May 21
Fort Collins (Colo.) Now ceases publication, three people.

May 20
The Associated Press, 263 people. Note from Erica Smith: Reports said AP gave a deadline to accept buyouts by June 22 and July 13, depending on the employee's department, and that 263 employees were eligible for those buyouts. It is unlikely all 263 would take the buyout offer, But reports dating back to November 2008 said AP would cut 10 percent of its staff, which is listed as 4,000 in its Linkedin profile.
The Hearld-Sun and The Chapel Hill Herald of Durham, N.C., seven people.
Salt Lake (Utah) Tribune, three people.
The American News in Aberdeen, S.D., 10 people.

May 19
The Advocate of Baton Rouge, La., 49 people.
South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 30 editorial employees.
The Honolulu Advertiser, 15 people.
The Richmond (Va.) Times Dispatch, five people.
The Huntsville (Ala.) Times, one person.

May 16
Cape Cod Media Group in Hyannis, Mass., 11 people.

May 15
South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 18 classified employees.

May 14
St. Cloud Times, 11 people as it outsources its printing.
The Telegraph and affiliated Cabinet Press of Hudson, N.H., eight people.

May 12
Fort Collins (Colo.) Coloradoan outsources its printing to the Denver Post, 42 people.
News Corp.'s Dow Jones & Co., 32 newsroom employees.

May 11
San Fransico Chronicle, 39 people.
Los Angeles Daily News, one person.

May 7
San Diego Union-Tribune, 192 people.

May 6
Stillwater (Minn.) Courier and its companion, the Lake Elmo Leader, cease publications; seven people.

May 2
Bloomsburg (Pa.) Press Enterprise, four people.
Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press, 15 people.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette of Little Rock, Ark., 16 people.

May 1
The Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., 70 people.

Here are News Cycle's month-by-month lists of newspaper job cuts this year:

December -- 752 people.
November -- 293 people.
October -- 375 people.
September -- 347 people.
August -- 425 people.
July -- 2,505 people.
June -- 318 people.
May -- 1,084 people.
April -- 1,350 people.
March -- 3,943 people.
February -- 1,492 people.
January -- 2,256 people.

Email me to report any job cuts in the newspaper industry.