Lies, damned lies and surveys.

public relations outfit Weber Shandwick came out this week suggesting that chief executives are now more secure in their jobs.

There was a 16 per cent decline in CEO churn for the first three quarters of 2006, according to the firm's study. Weber Shandwick's chief reputation strategist Dr. Leslie Gaines-Ross said it might have something to do with a higher calibre CEO.

That might be news to the boards at Airbus and Monster Worldwide. You see, Airbus chief Christian Streiff and Monster Worldwide's CEO Andrew McKelvey vacated their jobs this week.

Maybe someone should tell Weber Shandwick that three quarters does not a trend make. Because the numbers in September tell a very different story.

A record number of CEOs left their jobs in September, reports CFO.com. Indeed, the September turnover figure was 33 per cent more than August.

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