Our latest Corporate Learning Factbook research has just been published. The study shows that 2009 was another tough year for U.S. training organizations, which cut their L&D spending by 11%, on average. Following the 11% decline we saw in 2008, that's a drop of 21% in L&D spending since 2007.

No sectors were spared from the budget ax. Small companies cut their L&D spending by 10%; midsize companies cut 11% and large companies cut 12% of their L&D spending.  Among industries, budgets declined in every sector. Two of the hardest hit industries were the government and manufacturing sectors, which cut 11% to 16% of their L&D budgets. 

Staffing figures from the research tell a similar story, with headcount reductions averaging 5% in 2009. Small businesses reduced their training staffs by 4%, while midsize firms cut 5% and large companies cut 8% of their L&D headcount.  Comparing industries, again we find staffing reductions in every sector. The deepest cuts came in the banking/financial services and retail sectors, which cut 12% to 13% of their L&D headcount.

Need some good news? One piece of silver lining was found in spending allocations across program areas. After dropping in 2008, funding for leadership development bounced back up in 2009, to 24% of total L&D spending. We believe that's a very positive sign, demonstrating the companies are beginning to stabilize and plan for the future.

So while there is not a whole lot of good news in the 2009, there is at least one ray of hope that 2010 will be a better year for L&D.