Jan. 6 (Bloomberg) -- McGraw-Hill Cos., the owner of the Standard & Poor’s credit-rating service, cut 375 more jobs in the fourth quarter as the market slowdown and U.S. recession erode revenue.

The eliminations will reduce fourth-quarter earnings by $16.4 million after taxes, or 5 cents a share, the New York-based company said today in a statement. McGraw-Hill cut a total of 1,045 positions last year, or about 4.9 percent of its 21,171 employees as of the end of 2007.

The education-publishing unit lost 215 positions. Seventy jobs were cut in information and media, 40 from the corporate side and 50 in financial services, which includes S&P. McGraw- Hill has been trimming costs since credit-market turbulence began in the U.S. in the second half of 2007, suppressing demand for new bond ratings.

“Our diverse portfolio of businesses and ongoing cost containment efforts have helped lessen the impact of challenging economic conditions in 2008,” Chief Executive Officer Harold McGraw said in the statement.

McGraw-Hill, also the owner of BusinessWeek magazine, rose 90 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $25.49 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares lost 47 percent of their value last year.

The company announced last week that it transferred some U.S. assets related to Standard & Poor’s to a separate unit, leaving most of S&P’s U.S. business under a subsidiary.

In October, McGraw-Hill forecast full-year earnings, excluding restructuring charges and including associated benefits, of $2.63 to $2.65 a share. Analysts expect 2008 profit of $2.62, excluding some items, according to the average of seven estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Rabil in New York at srabil@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: January 6, 2009 16:06 EST