Current Unemployment Rate in the IT Industry? 117
concerned-about-employment asks: "What's the unemployment rate in the IT industry currently? Years ago I heard it was 8-9% but with so many jobs going offshore and the general unemployment rate rising, could it be even higher than before? Has it really broken 10% as some people say? That would mean 1 out of every 10 IT workers is out of a job. Personally though, from the perspective of a recent college graduate, it looks like 20% from here." How does the actual national unemployment rate in IT compare to the number of IT professionals that you know who are currently out of work?
College Grads (Score:4, Informative)
Oh and if you procrastinated through out college you are fucked. I have friends who if today came to me for a job I wouldn't hire. It is sad but true.
Official US number is 7.2% (Score:5, Informative)
Well, in 2002... (Score:4, Informative)
I've gotten calls from two recuiters looking for people in the last week. I think I got a grand total of 0 calls in 2002, and maybe a couple in 2003. I think people are realizing that not everything can be moved offshore and that programmers with domain/business experience are actually worth what you pay them here in the states. Dell, for example, is moving some of thier IT facilities back to the US after outsourcing it to India.
I hate to jinx it, but I think the worst is over. It may not be 1999 again anytime soon, but the storm clouds are clearing.
Re:1 in 10? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Just got rehired (Score:3, Informative)
Re:offshore? huh? not real jobs. (Score:3, Informative)
Daniel
Unemployment in US is very bad just remember (Score:3, Informative)
Re:College Grads Grab the Spots (Score:3, Informative)
You might not quite understand how defense contracting works. That company either recently got a new contract or think they will get a new contract, so they are hiring bodies to fill up the job descriptions. That contract might last six months or five years (only god and the program managers know), but I'm generally suspicious of any contractor doing a 50-out-of-200 hiring frenzy like that.
Of course, I've become quite jaded about defense contracting, so my point of view is probably no longer objective.