IT worker confidence falls in August

The summer doldrums hit U.S. techies in August, thanks partly to job-loss fears.

Information technology workers' confidence in the job market fell sharply from July, according to a study released Wednesday by staffing firm Hudson. Twenty-nine percent of IT workers claimed to be worried about losing their jobs, up from 26 percent last month.

Hudson also reported a drop in its job confidence measurement for U.S. workers overall, amid heightened job-security concerns and weaker job satisfaction.

The report added to mixed signals about the employment scene for U.S. programmers and other tech professionals. In July, the U.S. economy added thousands of jobs in both the hardware and services sectors of the technology arena, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. From the beginning of the year to June 1, job postings on tech-focused Dice.com rose 26 percent to 69,957, with strong gains in eastern cities. And a study released earlier this year indicated that the U.S. tech industry may have turned a corner last year when it comes to employment woes.

What's more, second-quarter job cuts at tech companies fell 33 percent from the first quarter. On the other hand, the pace of tech-sector downsizing is ahead of the rate a year ago. Earlier this year Hewlett-Packard announced that it will lay off 14,500 workers, or about 10 percent of its staff. And the average number of unemployed workers in nine high-tech categories fell by 64,000 last year but remained close to 150,000, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

In addition, computer professionals face the threat of increased automation and the prospect of their jobs being shifted offshore.

According to Hudson, IT workers in August were less optimistic about personal finances. Just 47 percent rated them as excellent or good, down from 62 percent in July.

Hudson's employment index for IT workers fell 12.4 points from 109.9 in July to 97.5. The company's overall employment index slid 5.5 points to 98.2. The employment index, calculated from survey questions covering work and personal-finance issues, is designed to measure U.S. workers' confidence in the employment market. It examines sectors such as IT, health care and manufacturing and involves monthly surveys of about 9,000 U.S. workers. The national index's reading in December 2003 was 100.

[Jake Leone]

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[Jake Leone]

With thousands of unemployed U.S. tech workers, WSJ wants h-1b cap removed

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) is playing politics with your job.

With hard-working U.S. engineers worried about their ability to earn a living, they are using their political muscle to destroy the ability of the U.S. to field a high-tech workforce. Almost as if they want the U.S. to be completely dependent on a foreign hi-tech workforce.

The head of WIPRO (an Indian Outsourcing company) has said he needs more h-1b Visas in order to more effectively steal jobs from American hi-tech workers.

Several Indian politicians are demanding Trade Sanctions against the United States, unless The U.S. abolishes the H-1b Visa cap and allow a flood of foreign workers into the United State.

Since when does another country have the right to write U.S. immigration law? Or coerce in any fashion in the area?

The General Accounting Office (GAO) of the United States has reported that h-1b workers are paid 20%-30% less than their U.S. citizen counterparts.

Without a cap on the H-1b Visas, we can all expect to be earning 20%-30% less (except CEO's of course).

The Wall Street Journal has been completely unfair, in:
- Using it's magazine to state their views in a one-sided forum, without even considering a full rebuttal.
- In Advocating a policy that benefits only big business (and foreign business interests) without even considering the impact this will have on the U.S. working class.

In order to rectify this extreme unfairness (and industry pandering) committed by the Wall Street Journal, against the U.S. workforce. The Wall Street Journal must donate an equal amount of space to a full and complete rebuttal of their clearly biased statement they made about "repealing the H-1b cap".

[gfsdfge]

Freedom of the press belongs to those that own one.

Reality hurts.

[aroyce]

Tech in America is doomed

I have to agree and I cannot figure out why, but the multi-nationals want America technically and economically crippled. Since they own our politicians it will happen. What I don't understant is that these same multi-national corporations EXPECT America to continue being the largest consumer in the world. That simply cannot continue as our standard of living declines.

The IRS is reporting that aggregate income in the United States is dropping. This while CEO's rake in billions for looting their companies. That simply means less people are working and those that are receive less money. I know this is a fact for IT workers. EVERYBODY I know who has been forced to change jobs in the last few years is early at least 30% less and working longer hours. The U.S. unemployment statistics are designed to never go above 7-8% so that report is a complete lie. Image how our present government would have reported the great depression? You get the picture.

Anyway, I think life is going to suck here in the next couple of decades. At least I am a gun owner...trained by Uncle Sam no less.

[MyLord]

Do they poll the 25% of unemployed/out of field IT workers?

I don't suppose their opinions change though.