Employers plan to cut more jobs than they add in December, according to the leading indicators of national employment report from the Society for Human Resource Management. This is the first time since the report began in 2004 that employers in both the manufacturing and service sectors plan to make more reductions than additions.

The report's survey found that 20.1% of manufacturers plan to add staff in December while 31.0% plan to reduce staff for a net decrease of 10.9%. That compares to a net increase of 27.6% in December 2007.

In the service sector, employers estimated a net employment decrease of 9.1% for December, down from a net increase of 33.3% in December 2007.

The report is based on a survey of private-sector human resource professionals at more than 500 manufacturing and more than 500 service-sector companies.