Unemployment rate increased significantly
for engineers and computer scientists
Although the overall U.S. unemployment rate fell in the second quarter, it increased significantly for engineers and computer scientists. IEEE-USA is calling on all Members of Congress to conduct a field hearing or town hall meeting during the August district work period to gather input on the situation from engineers and other high-tech professionals
The unemployment rate for all engineers increased from 3.6 percent in the first quarter of 2002 to 4.0 percent in the second quarter, data from the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals. The rate for electrical and electronics engineers (EEs) rose from 4.1 percent to 4.8. The rate for computer scientists, which includes systems analysts, jumped from 4.8 to 5.3 percent. Overall unemployment fell from 5.9 to 5.4 percent.
"IEEE-USA is concerned that the most recent increase in engineering unemployment is not a short term or cyclical phenomenon, but represents a more fundamental shift in engineering utilization that has potentially negative impacts for our nation," IEEE-USA President LeEarl Bryant said in a letter to Congress
IEEE-USA is asking Congress to investigate the impacts of increased hiring of non-U.S. guest workers, the greater use of temporary workers and the outsourcing of engineering work overseas as causes of the unemployment problem, in addition to the economic downturn.
"It is time for Congress to take a closer look at the problem of engineering unemployment and to eliminate the government subsidies and incentives that encourage corporate management to treat U.S. engineers as a disposable labor commodity rather than an essential investment in our nation's future," Bryant said.
IEEE-USA
is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers created in 1973 to promote the careers
and public-policy interests of the more than 235,000 electrical,
electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S.
members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical
professional society.
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