US dotcoms shed fewer jobs in August

US dotcoms have shed fewer jobs in August, although the number of firms closing down almost doubled.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the company which carried out the survey, says this may not signal the end of the dotcom slump.

The firm also says it could mean that dotcom companies are running out of employees to make redundant.

US dotcoms have cut 4,899 jobs in August, compared with 8,967 in July, the smallest number of cuts since August, 2000, when companies shed 4,193 jobs.

A total of 21 companies closed down in August, up from nine closures in July. In the year to date, 248 dotcoms have closed.

Dotcoms have cut a total of 87,795 jobs since January, more than double the 41,515 shed throughout the whole of 2000.

Of the 21 companies that have closed down this month, 11 internet technology firms made 1,117 redundancies, or 23% of the total. Portal companies cut 1,700 jobs.