[lelio]

Unemployment for IT workers reached 6% this year

Wow, where is it that low? Around here you go to the user group meetings and half the people are out of work -- before they were all employed.

[SauronOfMordor]

From H-1B hearing: Companies say foreign workers needed :

WASHINGTON -- The yearly number of foreign visas for IT workers and professionals coming into the U.S. will drop by two-thirds for 2004 unless the U.S. Congress acts, and an immigration lawyer group came to Congress Tuesday asking that the cap on H-1B visas not be allowed to slide back to pre-dot-com boom levels.

Representatives of Intel Corp. and Ingersoll-Rand Corp. also argued that H-1B visas are needed to fill technical positions where they can't find qualified U.S. candidates, but one panelist told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee that the visa program is taking money from the pockets of U.S. workers.

Several HUNDRED THOUSAND H1B's in the US competing with US Citizens for IT jobs is guaranteed to increase employment. Particularly when the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows under 2 million IT jobs in the US economy

If you're in IT, or have a relative or friend who is, write to your congress critters (both senators and congressman) and tell them how you feel. Legislation is being considered NOW

[fortaydoos]

When an IT professional is forced to take a job at starbucks he is not unemployed. What he is is just another former Bush supporter.

Rove needs to wake up on this issue and soon.