What's even more ironic is the fact that, despite companies' various strategies to cut expenses, including head count, job loss odds for those making more than $85,000 have fallen 23 percent.

The information comes from a recent Job Market Index prepared by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"Higher-paid managers and executives, on the other hand, will find their jobs protected because they are viewed, among other reasons, as the custodians of corporate memory - the corporate glue that holds a company together through good times and bad," said John A. Challenger, CEO of the firm.

Because unemployment rates are at about 6 percent, employers are confident they will be able to rehire talented people when business rebounds, Challenger added.