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Investing April 8, 2003
Telecom Job Reduction Plummet Means High Tech Employment Improvement
April 8, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A drop in planned
telecommunications job cuts lead to a 45%-decrease in overall
high-tech position reductions.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
According to the latest quarterly report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, job cuts announced by high-tech firms in the first quarter plunged to 61,032 from the 110,247 in the same quarter a year ago. In the much-battered telecom sector, employers reported 15,862 job cuts so far in 2003, down 81% from the 82,522 in the first quarter of 2002.
The other segments of the technology sector (electronics,
computers and e-commerce) all experienced increased job
cuts, however. Electronics firms have seen job
reductions double to 26,270 from 13,062, a year ago.
Computer makers and e-commerce firms saw job cuts
increase 29% and 28%, respectively.
Through the first three months of 2003, technology job
decreases represented 17% of the 355,795 cuts announced
by all industries. This is in sharp contrast to the
two previous years, in which technology accounted for 33%
of the 1,466,823 job cuts announced in 2002 and 36% of
the 1,956,876 cuts announced in 2001.