Unemployment Rate for Electrical Engineers Soars to New Record, Engineering Jobless...

Unemployment Rate for Electrical Engineers Soars to New Record, Engineering
Jobless Rate Up for Second Consecutive Quarter

WASHINGTON, July 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The unemployment rate for U.S.
electrical and electronics engineers (EEs) hit a new record in the second
quarter, while the rate for all engineers increased for a second straight
quarter, according to data released last week by the Department of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

"Technology drives our economy, which means engineering unemployment is a
bellwether for recovery and job creation," IEEE-USA President Gordon Day said.
"These new data suggest we've got a long way to go as the United States
attempts to regain its economic footing."

The news for EEs was particularly bad as the jobless rate more than doubled
from 4.1 percent in the first quarter to a record-high 8.6 percent in the
second. The previous quarterly record was 7 percent, in the first quarter of
2003.

For all engineers, the unemployment rate jumped from 3.9 percent in the first
quarter to 5.5 percent in the second quarter. The rate for computer
professionals steadied at 5.4 percent, after a significant jump in the first
quarter. The second-quarter unemployment rate for all professional workers
showed a modest uptick, from 3.7 percent to 4.3 percent.

The BLS reports that 29,000 EEs were unemployed in the second quarter, up from
the first-quarter figure of 13,000. On a small positive note, the number of
employed EEs seems to have stabilized, actually rising 2.3 percent
quarter-to-quarter, but at levels well below those of the past decade.

"Taken together, these data may suggest that engineers laid off last year and
early this year are having trouble securing the new engineering jobs being
created," Day said.

IEEE members can find career enhancement resources at
http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/. Help for unemployed and at-risk members is
available at http://www.ieeeusa.org/careers/help/.

IEEE-USA advances the public good and promotes the careers and public policy
interests of more than 210,000 engineers, scientists and allied professionals
who are U.S. members of IEEE. IEEE-USA is part of IEEE, the world's largest
technical professional society with 375,000 members in 160 countries. See
http://www.ieeeusa.org.

SOURCE IEEE-USA (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

Chris McManes, IEEE-USA Public Relations Manager, +1-202-530-8356,
c.mcmanes@ieee.org