The IT industry lost nearly a half-million jobs between 2001 and 2004 and has recouped only about a quarter of them since, says a new report commissioned by WashTech/CWA, a tech worker union.
For instance, the WashTech/CWA report refutes recent figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that said U.S. tech employment is near an all-time high of 3.4 million while unemployment is around 3%, near its record low. Unemployment is actually around 3.6%, or about the same level as in 2001, according to the WashTech/CWA report.
At less than 4%, however, either number suggests a healthy tech employment environment.
Between March 2001 and March 2004, the U.S. tech industry eliminated about 402,800 jobs, according to the report, "Information Technology Labor Markets: Recovering, But Slowly," which was prepared by the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois, Chicago for the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers an affiliate of the Communications Workers of America (WashTech/CWA).
The U.S. recouped about a fourth of those positions between April 2003 and February 2006, when 76,300 tech jobs were added, bringing the total losses from March 2001 to March 2004 to 395,6000 according to the study.
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