Posted on 09/18/2003 4:03:48 PM PDT by Mini-14
About 150,000 IT positions were lost in 2001 and 2002
SEPTEMBER 17, 2003
The study, which was presented at a congressional forum today by the Washington-based nonprofit group Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST), affirms what IT managers have seen in response to help-wanted ads. "I'm sure the number is 6% or higher," said Michael Russo, a data center manager at Wyeth, a Madison, N.J.-based pharmaceuticals giant.
A recent third-shift job in the company's operational data center drew 168 applicants. "There are a lot of people who are out of work," Russo said.
Randy Rosenthal, manager of computer operations at Southwest Securities Group Inc. in Dallas, has seen the same trend: highly qualified people with multiple degrees applying for jobs IT managers once had trouble filling. "That tells me that 6% has hit the IT area pretty hard," he said.
About 150,000 IT positions were lost in 2001 and 2002, about two-thirds of them in programming, the report said.
Two years ago, Phoenix-based water and electric utility Salt River Project had an open position for an operations analyst and received about 15 applications; last year, it posted a similar position and had 50 applicants. This year the 800,000-customer utility has a hiring freeze, said operations manager Dewayne Nelsen.
There was a sense of grim resignation about the latest report among some IT managers at a conference held here by AFCOM, an Orange, Calif.-based data center managers user group.
Several IT managers, some requesting that their names not be used, told of data center consolidations that led to layoffs or offshore plans. For the future, automation improvements and the development of "self-healing" applications will also hurt some IT career paths. The career advice from one IT manager was to avoid the technical aspects of the profession and focus more on IT management training.
IT unemployment rates were as low as 1.2% in 1997, shooting up to 4.3% in 2002.
But the overall number of IT jobs has seen remarkable growth, tripling in the past 20 years, according to the CPST, which conducts labor force and educational research for a range of scientific organizations and companies. The IT labor force grew from 719,000 jobs in 1983 to 2.5 million at its peak in 2000.
With the growth of IT came an increasing reliance upon foreign workers. This increase was facilitated by legislation expanding the use of H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreign workers to take jobs in the U.S. for up to six years. A cap of 195,000 on the number of visas that can be issued has been in place for each of the past three years, but the cap will drop to 65,000 on Oct. 1. L-1 visas, which allow companies to transfer foreign employees into the U.S., have tripled in use.
The report, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York and the United Engineering Foundation, an umbrella organization for engineering groups, draws no firm conclusion on the offshore outsourcing trend. But it recognizes predictions made by analyst firms, including Gartner Inc., which in July estimated that 10% of all U.S. professional jobs in IT services companies would be transferred overseas, along with 5% of IT positions in other businesses.
Long term, the report says more research is needed on the effects of offshore outsourcing and the workforce issues raised by it: "Can the U.S. continue to be a prime market for the rest of the world if it is a stronghold for neither manufacturing nor technical services?" the report asks. "What are the long-run implications of these trends for American standards of living?"
The CPST report concludes that while the job market for IT professionals has weakened, it remains sizable.
"For the near run, normal turnover alone will generate opportunities for people who are determined to work in the field," the report said. "The long-run outlook is more problematic. The United States does not lack, either now or in the foreseeable future, sufficient numbers of capable people who would like to work in IT. But those people may not be willing to conclude that long-run demands for their services will be good enough to support IT as a sensible career choice."
I tend to think the unemployment rate for engineers is much higher than 6%. Also, it could be higher in certain geographical areas. I know many people up and down the east coast who have not been able to get a job or even an interview in the last 2 years. A lot of companies do not even want to consider a non local candidate. Some of my friends are giving up on engineering and going back to school to change professions. It took me a year to get a job after being laid off. My current job is with a start up and so it may not even last. You may be in a good area but the trend is to move software development off-shore, so I only expect it will get worse. Some managers tell me that they recieve 500 resumes for every job ad they post. With that kind of competition it is not hard to imagine that getting a job could be like finding a needle in a haystack.
There really is no reason for you to add salt to a wound to those who are having difficulty finding a job just because you have managed to escape the trend. Given that you are a "C" programmer chances are that the older you get the harder and harder it will be for you to get a job.
Oh, most people I know have great wisdom to impart, and indeed, their words I do take to heart. Don't fret too much then that you yourself fail in that part. Nothing personal.
And while your at it, whipe[sic] those lip-marks off your mirror.
IMHO, you should be more concerned as to why your wife's lip marks are all over other men's mirrors and boxer shorts rather than the clarity of said looking glasses.
Why is it the goverment's job to take my tax money to foster corporate and foreign welfare?
I tend to think the overall unemployement rate is much higher for a much broader array of occupations. The 20% rate touted for the Great Depression hasn't been reached yet, but the current metrics now employed to determine joblessness are greatly flawed and, well, conservative.
Currently, I'll bet it's closer to 9 percent using Great Depression standards.
I am having a wonderful evening. Thank you.
I agree. It does not include people who supposedly aren't looking for a job anymore, did you ever know anyone who got laid off who all of a sudden decides to stop looking for a job? Just who are they talking about?
Nor should you. A new and much better camera is cheaper than repairing anything that's out of warranty...
Swervie, you are not so naïve as to believe the actual unemployment rate has any relationship to the reported rate.
I know you better than that!
And I know you know better...
*groan*
Strange thing, since I've been unemployed I've bought a lot less fast food. When enough join me the demand for burger flippers will plummet, too...
Strange thing, since I've been unemployed I've bought a lot less fast food. When enough join me the demand for burger flippers will plummet, too...
1: Nanophase.
2: Hydrogen Energy.
3: MEMS.
Remember, you heard it here. A person who suggests you invest in them is NOT your friend.
(38 years in R&D with patents in those fields!)
DAGNABIT! You TOLD!!!
(20 years in MEMS manufacturing with four patents issued and more pending. No jobs in a year, though...)
*sigh* My blond daughter is both...
I've done that at least a half dozen times. It's a source of considerable pride, as long as there is another job to move TO...
You too, huh? With me, it was no contracts. Just calls from Grad Students who wanted Free Stuff to play with. A few places (MIT, LRL, etc.) are wired for the funding. Forget CBD unless your uncle is a congressman.
To Hell with it. I left R&D 2 years ago, and will finish my career in Product Development- Rather like hitching Secretariate to a plow, but it's a better living and they are glad to have me.
Missed it - thanks for the ping!
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