U.S. High-tech job cuts at lowest level since 1997
Even though the U.S. recession caused high-tech firms to downsize, especially in the second half of 2011, job cuts in that sector last year were at their lowest level since 1997, according to a report by outplacement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
High tech firms, such as those engaged in the computer, electronics and telecommunications industries, announced plans for a total of 37,038 planned job cuts in 2011, down 21 percent from 46,825 in 2010, the report said.
The year-end total was down 79 percent from the recent peak of 174,629 recorded in 2009, when the recession was at its worst, the report said.
The decline in technology job cuts occurred as overall job cuts across all industries increased 14 percent from 529,973 in 2010 to 606,082 in 2011.
The technology sector accounted for 6.1 percent of the 2011 total, the lowest percentage of tech-sector cuts since Challenger said it began reporting these figures in 1997; falling from 2010’s record low of 8.8 percent.
There was a surge in tech job cuts in 2011’s second half, jumping 59 percent from July to December, according to the report, primarily in the computer industry.
“The second-half surge notwithstanding, the technology sector is definitely among the areas of the economy enjoying the fruits of recovery. The 22,730 [job cuts] announced by these employers over the last six months are still relatively low, compared to recent years. Several trends in the sector, including the advancement of cloud storage and the push to develop more portable computing devices, such as tabs and smartphones, is helping to create and protect jobs in the sector,” said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas in a statement.
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