Company holiday parties become casualty of downturn

Looks like more employers are going to be party-poopers this holiday season.

A new survey by the Chicago outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas finds that the number of businesses planning holiday parties this year is sharply down from last year -- and that was down from the year before.

Sixty-two percent of employers responding to the survey said they'll host holiday parties this year -- down from 77 percent a year ago and 90 percent in 2007.

And nearly 30 percent of those that are holding parties say they're cutting back, the survey found, trimming their party budgets by 10 to 20 percent on average.

Francine Knowles