According to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, planned job cuts rose by 21,557 in July to 103,312, but that figure is still up 140.8% compared to a year ago. In June, planned job cuts fell 21,767 to 81,755.

Planned cuts in the automotive sector rose by 9,275 compared to the previous month's decrease of 26,655, while cuts to the food sector rose 12,962 after falling 1,155 in June. Cuts to the energy sector were flat compared to June's 1,147 decline.

Cuts in the construction sector declined by 1,231 in July after falling 374 in the previous month, while planned cuts to the financial sector decreased by 3,710 compared to the previous month's 3,021 rise.

In an interview with CNBC, John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, says the alarming part of the report was an increase in planned cuts to oil-related industries such as transportation.

Uncharacteristically, the report was released after the national U.S. employment figures for July.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls declined for the seventh straight month, falling less than expected by a total of 51k jobs in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday. June's decline was revised to a loss of 51k jobs from an initially reported loss of 62k jobs.

The unemployment rate rose two-tenths to 5.7% (5.682%).

Nonfarm payrolls were expected to fall by 75k jobs in the month, with expectations ranging from a flat report to a loss of 150k jobs.

By Erik Kevin Franco with contributions from Patrick McGee and edited by Nancy Girgis