The unemployment situation in the United States looked relatively good through the first half of the year. The jobless rate dropped to 7.3% in October from 7.9%% at the beginning of the year. However, Washington's trouble with the debt ceiling has hampered GDP growth to some extent. And the debate will begin all over again early in 2014. The current economic condition is not bright enough to drive significant job growth.

In fact, there have been some very large corporate layoffs recently. In October alone, six companies fired a combined 17,700 workers. Using figures provided by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the six firms with the largest layoffs last month.

ALSO READ: The States with the Most (and Least) Affordable Colleges

One of these companies, pharmaceutical firm Ben Venue, is not just laying off workers, it is closing down entirely. The drug maker folded last month after being cited by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for violating safe practices.

The remaining five of these six companies described the cuts as "restructuring," "cost cutting" or "demand downturn." Each rationale means about the same thing: the business prospects of the firms have softened. Each company needs to cut expenses as a means to improve profits, if there are any profits to be had at all.

ALSO READ: The Five Worst Performing Stocks on the Dow

All layoffs listed are based on company layoff announcements made in October, compiled by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. These layoffs have not necessarily taken place yet, and have not been confirmed with the company.

These are the six companies that cut the most jobs in October.

6. Ben Venue Laboratories
> October layoffs: 1,100
> Employees: n/a
> Industry: Pharmaceutical

Boehringer Ingelheim, Ben Venue’s parent, closed the pharmaceutical company early last month. The FDA had cited Ben Venue for quality control problems. However, Boehringer Ingelheim said that even with "significant investments in facility upgrades, the company cannot return to sustainable production." The Ohio facility used to produce Doxil, a cancer drug, for Johnson & Johnson and a variety of other drugs. According to Reuters, closing the production site in Bedford, Ohio, will affect 1,100 employees.

5. Broadcom
> October layoffs: 1,500
> Employees: 11,300
> Industry: Electronics

ALSO READ: America's Richest (and Poorest) States

The Irvine, California-based chip maker had two reasons to make cuts this October. The first was the acquisition of Renesas Electronics. The other was flat corporate revenue. Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) married the two when it released quarterly earnings with revenue up only 2% from the same quarter the year before. According to the company, "During the quarter Broadcom initiated a global restructuring plan to reduce expenses and better align its resources to areas of strategic focus. The plan includes a workforce reduction of up to 1,150 employees (some of whom originated from the Renesas acquisition)."