The unemployment rate for U.S. engineering and computer occupations is rising at a faster pace than for other professional occupations, according to data released Friday by the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. An analysis of the data by IEE-USA, an organizational unit of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, found the unemployment rate for all engineers grew from 2.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 3.9 percent in the first quarter of 2009.
For computer occupations, the unemployment rate went from 3.3 percent to 5.4 percent including a jump from 1.9 percent to 4.2 percent for out of work software engineers and an increase of 5.7 percent from 3 percent for unemployed computer scientists and systems analysts. The quarter-to-quarter rate for all professional workers increased from 3 percent to 3.7 percent. Northwestern University professor Shane Greenstein said in an email that the data shows "the recession has started to shape employment in the parts of the economy where employment and wage growth had been strong." The recession has started to hit both sides of high-tech labor markets: the demand for workers in R&D and IT production (such as electrical engineers) as well as in information management and integration (such as computer managers), Greenstein said.
Information Technology and Innovation Foundation President Robert Atkinson said the numbers reflect that the "sectors most affected by the downturn tend to be ones that employ engineers and computer scientists." Durable goods manufacturing is more cyclical and employs more engineers and computer scientists, therefore there are higher unemployment numbers. He and Ralph Hellmann, a lobbyist for the Information Technology Industry Council, hung some hope on government investments in technology. "There is a general softening in the market for these types of jobs, but it could start to pick up as the stimulus bill is implemented and the various health IT, broadband, energy grid, and increased science funding programs get ramped up," Hellmann said. -- Winter Casey
Monday, February 1, 2010
It seems as though hi-tech employment is the first super paying job field when the economy rebounds, and one of the worst hit fields on an economic downtrend. But just like everyone else, the job situation is tough now, refinancing home mortgage applications are soaring, and there has been little encouraging news on the jobs front.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Nichole
Monday, January 4, 2010
Mary Roth
I work in Australia and provide Sydney courses and this has been kind of slow for us, as well. The economy is really in the the pits all around the world. Anyways, good post and please do keep up the good work!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Mike Wilson
I work in the security camera business, and while seeing a slowdown initially, I actually see it coming back now, and I'm sure this will be the case for the other IT sectors as well. I expect unemployment to linger for a lot of the year though. Let's just hope it gets better soon.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Frankie007
Yes I know exactly how this feels. I run a alarm systems company and I had to lose several employees because people are really feeling this and arent purchasing our services quite as often. This is completely understandable and expected in this recession.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Linda Aaron
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Merle Matthews