WASHINGTON - THE churn at the top of US companies hit a record high of 1,484 chief executive departures in 2008, with the financial sector drumming the most out the door, a survey reported on Tuesday.

'That is an average of nearly 124 CEO departures each month or roughly six every business day,' said survey author, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global consulting firm.

The company said the 2008 total was the highest since it began tracking the data in 1999 and eclipsed the prior record of 1,478 departures in 2006.

'While the financial sector did not see the highest CEO turnover, it definitely saw the highest number of executives forced out of their positions in corporate shakeups related to the weak economy and devastating credit collapse,' the company said.

The health care sector had the highest CEO turnover for the fourth year in a row with 285, a record one-year total for a single industry.

The technology sector was the second-highest, with 221 exits, followed by the finance sector with 169.

The government's bailout of the financial industry 'forced companies to take a hard look at how their chief executives were performing, how they were compensated, and whether the company could move forward under their leadership,' said John Challenger, the firm's CEO.

According to the study, the primary reason for a CEO departure was a resignation. Forty-one were fired and nine lost their jobs in bankruptcies.

'However, pressure from the board and/or stakeholders was undoubtedly behind some of the 466 resignations recorded in 2008, even if the announcements did not say so,' the firm said.

'With the economic turmoil expected to continue well into 2009, the pace of CEO departures will likely follow suit,' Mr Challenger said.