American companies saw 105 CEO exits in October, up 5.7 percent from the same month last year, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report.
To date, the global outplacement consulting firm has tracked 971 CEO changes in 2017. That is 6.9 percent lower than the same period in 2016, when 1,043 CEO exits were announced.
Financial companies and hospitals reported 11 CEO exits in October, second only to the 24 CEO exits in the government and nonprofit sector during the same month. However, hospitals saw significantly fewer CEO exits through October when compared to the same period in 2016. The number of CEOs leaving hospitals declined 37 percent year over year, with 92 hospital CEO exits this year so far, compared to 126 during the same period in 2016.
"The job market continues to show signs of strength, with consumer spending expected to be high as we end the year and proposed tax legislation lowering corporate taxes considerably," said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "Companies have good reason to hold on to their current leaders."
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