Did You Say A 'Layoff Calculator'?

First there was the death calculator, then the dot-com death toll. Now an official layoff calculator can estimate your likelihood of being canned by the end of next year.

Economy.com, a firm that performs economic analyses and projections for businesses, government agencies, and individuals, designed the online layoff calculator and posted it on dismal.com about four weeks ago. You plug in your zip code, occupation, and the industry you work in, coupled with an approximate rating of your most recent performance review and your company's stock ticker (if available). The calculator spits out a percentage, which indicates the probability that you'll be drinking "pink slip" cocktails by the end of 2002.

The worst score one can get is between 25% and 30%, says Mark McMullen, a senior economist with the firm. The median score across all industries is 5%, meaning that about 5% of workers across all industries will get the axe by next year.

However, tech workers may have a hard time figuring out their layoff probability, because the calculator only lists a few technology-related jobs on the occupations menu, such as computer programmer and engineer. CEOs and other executives may not be in better shape, as there's no specific executives category either. But if you are an executive and you want to know the likelihood that you'll be laid off next year, McMullen recommends you choose the "managerial administrative" menu option, reasoning that, "CEO is basically an administrative position."