DES MOINES (AP) - The Des Moines Register is laying off 41 employees and will leave another 15 vacant positions unfilled.

Publisher Laura Hollingsworth announced the cuts Wednesday afternoon, blaming the action on the nation's economic downturn. Those losing their jobs include the paper's editorial cartoonist.

The Register also will cut jobs in its weeklies division, which includes the Indianola Record-Herald and the Altoona Herald.

Hollingsworth says the cuts represent nearly 7 percent of the company's 801-person workforce.

The Register is owned by the Gannett Co., which in October announced it would cut about 10 percent of its U.S. community publishing division staff.