Approximately a third of the positions slashed were in the ailing telecom sector (30,455), followed by computer staff (25,392), industrial goods (8,801) and government/ non-profit (7,163). Regionally, the West/Southwest (31,399) suffered the worst job losses, followed by the South (24,732), Midwest (20,115) and then East (18,520). There were 1,956,876 job cuts announced in 2001, according to Challenger, and so far in 2002 the running total is 735,527 half way through 2002. The 2002 tally is already running higher than any other year of the past decade, though it will likely come in shy of last year"s gaping hole. The news will keep the holiday-thinned markets vigilant ahead of Friday payrolls.