Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News

      Tech Job Cuts Ease

      By
      Lisa Vaas
      -
      October 10, 2002
      Share
      Facebook
      Twitter
      Linkedin

        eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

        The rate of tech job losses dipped 31 percent in the third quarter, according to a report released Oct. 3 by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

        Third-quarter job cuts in the high-tech sector—including telecommunications, electronics, computers and e-commerce—totaled 91,450, down 31 percent from the second quarters total of 132,953 lost jobs.

        Does the slowing rate of tech job losses mean the economy is healing, or simply that there are fewer jobs left to cut? Quite possibly the latter, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO John Challenger. “Some companies may be down to bare bones now and cannot afford to eliminate any more jobs without going out of business,” Challenger said in a statement. “Some major employers still have a lot of room to make cuts and may be forced to do so soon if capital spending does not increase.”

        Indeed, Challenger, Gray & Christmas tracking has in the past indicated that the odds of being downsized in the fourth quarter of a given year increase at least 38 percent. Because there has been no significant upturn in capital spending and earnings remain under pressure, this year will likely be no different, a recent Challenger, Gray release noted.

        “It is impossible to say if falling technology job cuts indicate that business is finally turning around for this weakened sector,” Challenger said in the statement. “It is probably too early to celebrate. … While it appears that job cuts in telecommunications are trending downward, we have been surprised in the past. One month there are very few job cuts, and the next month there is a flood of cuts, which is to be expected in this volatile economy.”

        The third-quarters figure of 91,450 tech job cuts was 57 percent lower than the 213,420 tech jobs that were lost in the third quarter of 2001. This years third-quarter figure was the lowest quarterly total of tech job losses since the fourth quarter of 2000, when high-tech firms shed 43,175 jobs.

        High-tech job cuts represent one-third of all job cuts–1,004,617–announced so far this year, according to the study. The biggest declines in tech job cuts came in the telecommunications sector, which witnessed a 52 percent rate drop, from 83,318 in the second quarter to 39,717 in the third quarter. There were 6,956 telecom job cuts in September—the lowest monthly figure for the industry since November 2000 (2,358).

        Electronics is the one high-tech industry where job cuts sped up. The rate of electronics job losses jumped 175 percent, from 7,159 in the second quarter to 19,716 in the third quarter.

        Lisa Vaas
        Lisa Vaas is News Editor/Operations for eWEEK.com and also serves as editor of the Database topic center. Since 1995, she has also been a Webcast news show anchorperson and a reporter covering the IT industry. She has focused on customer relationship management technology, IT salaries and careers, effects of the H1-B visa on the technology workforce, wireless technology, security, and, most recently, databases and the technologies that touch upon them. Her articles have appeared in eWEEK's print edition, on eWEEK.com, and in the startup IT magazine PC Connection. Prior to becoming a journalist, Vaas experienced an array of eye-opening careers, including driving a cab in Boston, photographing cranky babies in shopping malls, selling cameras, typography and computer training. She stopped a hair short of finishing an M.A. in English at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She earned a B.S. in Communications from Emerson College. She runs two open-mic reading series in Boston and currently keeps bees in her home in Mashpee, Mass.
        Get the Free Newsletter!
        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
        This email address is invalid.
        Get the Free Newsletter!
        Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
        This email address is invalid.

        MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

        Latest News

        Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

        James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
        I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
        Read more
        Applications

        Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

        James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
        I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
        Read more
        Cloud

        IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

        James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
        I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
        Read more
        Applications

        Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

        James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
        I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
        Read more
        IT Management

        Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

        James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
        I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
        Read more
        Logo

        eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

        Facebook
        Linkedin
        RSS
        Twitter
        Youtube

        Advertisers

        Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

        Advertise with Us

        Menu

        • About eWeek
        • Subscribe to our Newsletter
        • Latest News

        Our Brands

        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms
        • About
        • Contact
        • Advertise
        • Sitemap
        • California – Do Not Sell My Information

        Property of TechnologyAdvice.
        © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

        Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

        ×