The nation’s employers announced plans to cut payrolls by 40,430 jobs in January, up 24 percent from 32,556 in December, according to the latest report on planned job cuts released Thursday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

While January job cuts were up from the previous month, they were 24 percent lower than the 53,486 layoffs announced by employers the same month a year ago. This was, in fact, the third lowest January total in Challenger records going back to 1993. The only years to see fewer January job cuts were 1995 (38,962) and 2011 (38,519).

Not only was the January total among the lowest on record, but it appears that the planned layoffs announced last month will be more than offset by planned hiring. Planned hiring announcements, which represent a small fraction of the actual hiring activity in the economy, totaled 60,585 in January.

January job cuts were led by the financial and retail sectors, which announced 8,578 and 6,676 job cuts, respectively. Financial job cuts were up slightly from a year ago, when these employers announced 7,611 to start the year. Retail job cuts were 46 percent lower than the 12,426 layoffs announced in the sector in the first month of 2012.

While GDP contracted by 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012, the relatively low job-cut totals we have seen for the last couple of months indicate that employers do not foresee a prolonged decline in economic activity. In fact, recent data showing increased consumer spending, including a 14-percent increase in purchases of durable goods, as well as increased home sales and increased home prices, suggest that the economy is heading upward in the early part of the new year.

While the economy continues to improve, we will continue to see job cuts resulting from shifts in industry and societal trends, as well as other issues beyond the typical economic factors. For example, food company Cargill Inc. announced a meat processing plant closure impacting 3,000 workers, which was attributed to a prolonged drought in Texas that has significantly thinned cattle herds.

The continued shift toward online commerce was another trend behind many January job cuts. American Express plans to reduce its headcount by 4 percent to 6 percent this year, mostly in its travel business unit, as more of its customers shift to online portals for booking travel plans and other needs. The ongoing shift toward online commerce was also behind the final nail being placed in the coffin of video rental chain Blockbuster, which announced the closure of all remaining stores, impacting about 3,000 workers.