There might be something extra in your paycheck this month. A survey of 100 human resource executives, conducted by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, found that 64% of companies are planning to pay holiday bonuses this year, even though they're still worried about expenses in a market that remains difficult. We've clearly come a long way over the past 12 months. Hiring may not have resumed yet, but at least employers are showing that they appreciate their employees ... and are worried about losing them. At this time last year, only 54% were planning to toss a little extra to the staff for the holidays.

And, the bonus checks are getting bigger, at least for a few people. Eight percent of respondents indicated that they are amping up bonus pay, compared to none a year ago. But, 16% say they aren't paying bonuses this year, up from 13% in December 2008. Another 4% are cutting bonus check sizes.

Through the end of November, 1,122 CEOs have moved on, a decline of 17.6% year-over-year. Last year, 1,361 departures were seen by this point. If the trend continues, CEO turnover could reach its lowest level since 2004, when only 663 occurred.

The health care industry experienced the most changes, with 22 CEOs leaving their posts, bringing the total to 181 for the sector this year, topping all industries. The government and non-profit sector comes next with 148 this year, 18 in November. The financial services industry lost 116 CEOs, with only 10 happening last month.

Sluggish retail sales in November didn't stop retailers from adding bodies. A report by outplacement consulting company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, reavealed to BloggingStocks, shows that retail sector payrolls grew to 321,300 in November, an improvement from the previous month's 233,700. This follows 54,200 retail hires in October, bringing the total number of seasonal retail employees up to 375,500. Already, that comes close to the 384,300 hired from October through December in 2008. The analysis is based on data supplied by the Department of Labor.

High expectations for the holiday season likely contributed to the up-tick in hiring. The estimated 0.5% growth from Black Friday 2008 to Black Friday 2009 was a disappointment, and November sales were off 0.3%, surprising analysts, who expected the trend to go in the other direction. Costco (COST) and Limited Brands (LTD) came out ahead, but most retailers, including Target (TGT) and Macy's (M) struggled. Saks (SKS) is also suffering from an anemic luxury goods market.

Planned job cuts fell to 50,349 in November, the lowest level in nearly two years. The 9.6% decline from October, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, is the fourth month in a row in which layoffs fell. Also, from November 2008 to November 2009, planned reductions plunged 72% from 181,671. November was the worst month of 2008.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas sees companies slowing down the axe-swinging, a trend that has continued through the back half of 2009. Since July 1, 2009, employers have cut an average of 69,252 jobs each month. Through the end of June, the average was 149,446. The aggressive layoff pace in the first two quarters of 2009 have pushed this year's total ahead of 2008, with the year-to-date planned reduction total reaching 1,242,936 last month. That beats the 2008 full-year total of 1,223,993 and tops the November 2008 amount of 1,057,645 by 17.5%.

An unemployment rate of 10.2% means that serious jobseekers are using every tool they can find. So, it's not at all shocking that social networking tools top the list, with LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter leading the charge. Openings are being tweeted, hints of a new position are being monitored and hot candidates are being hit up directly, even if they aren't saying they're on the prowl for a new gig. Social media is a tool to use in a job hunt but not necessarily the only one, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Instead, it makes sense to balance a search with many tools.

John Challenger, CEO, says, "The job search has changed radically over the last two decades with the advent of electronic mail, the internet, social networking, smart phones, etc. However, it is important to remember that all of these technologies simply enhance the job search; they will never replace the face-to-face connections that are critical to a successful search." But, he continues that "we feel that these new networking tools are essential and now advise all of the job seekers going through our program to open LinkedIn accounts and to consider other services such as Facebook and Twitter.

The latest study that Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed to BloggingStocks reports that October was the eighth month this year in which CEO turnover was down year-over-year. Through the end of last month, 1,028 CEO positions changed hands -- down 18% from the 1,257 by the same point in 2008. In fact, the tally for the first 10 months of 2009 is the lowest since 2004, when the big office found only 561 new inhabitants.

The financial industry remains the toughest place for CEOs, with 19 leaving the job last month. Even though the situation has gotten easier, this industry still has the highest turnover. For the year, approximately 10% of all CEO departures (106) have been in the financial sector. "The financial industry is still incredibly volatile, as both October and September saw major announcements from leading companies including JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC) and last month's bankruptcy of CIT Group, which led to the exit of CEO Jeffrey Peek," John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says.