Report: IT Market Upswing a ‘Jobless Recovery’

Dismissing industry claims to the contrary, a study released on June 14 asserts that the technology market is actually in a “jobless recovery.”

The study was released by the CUED (Center for Urban Economic Development) at the University of Illinois, Chicago on behalf of the WashTech/CWA (Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, an affiliate union of the Communications Workers of America).

The study argues that recent hiring in the IT industry reflects cyclical recovery in IT labor markets and not sustained secular growth, finding that just 76,300 new IT jobs have been added since April 2003.

The number adds up to less than one-quarter of those lost during the recession, despite the fact that the recovery began five years ago.

According to the report, the IT industry eliminated approximately 402,800 jobs between March 2001 and March 2004, despite the fact that the nation began officially experiencing an economic recovery in November 2001. Half of the job eliminations took place when the United States was on this upswing.

“Technology job growth is weak at best in most major markets across the country,” said WashTech/CWA president Marcus Courtney in a statement.

“Tens of thousands of highly-skilled American IT workers remain unemployed or underemployed, while at the same time, more and more technology jobs are being shipped out of the country.”

Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Report: IT Market Upswing a ‘Jobless Recovery’