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Engineers Recieve Mixed News
on Unemployment

WASHINGTON (14 October 2002) — While the unemployment rate for engineers fell for the first time since early 2001, the number of engineering jobs also dropped below 2 million for the first time in five years.

The unemployment rate for all engineers declined from 4.0 percent in the second quarter of 2002 to 3.4 percent in the third quarter, according to figures released last week by the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. The good news was offset by a substantial drop in engineering jobs, which fell from 2,027,000 to 1,923,000.

Of the major engineering disciplines, mechanical engineers were the hardest hit, losing 49,000 jobs. Aerospace engineers lost 26,000 jobs.

"The very significant decline in the number of engineering jobs is a major concern for all of us," IEEE-USA President LeEarl Bryant said. "We're not sure if these jobs will return when the economy turns up, or if they've been exported to lower-cost overseas locations."

For electrical and electronics engineers, the jobless rate fell from an all-time high of 4.8 percent in the second quarter to 4.0 in the third. Although the rate improved, it is still more than three times as high as it was for the same quarter of 2000 (1.3 percent). Engineering jobs totaled 2,164,000 at that time.

The overall unemployment rate decreased by one-tenth to 5.3 percent.

The number of jobless computer scientists and systems analysts also declined, from 95,000 (5.3 percent) in the second quarter to 84,000 (4.6 percent) in the third. At the same time, the number of employed workers in these fields increased by 35,000 to 1,717,000.

IEEE-USA's Bryant is unsure if the lower unemployment rate is an aberration or a trend.

"Despite the hopeful talk about the recession being over, U.S. engineers and computer scientists aren't out of the woods yet, not by a long shot," she said. "The fourth quarter is always a prime time for job cuts, and outplacement firms are already reporting a lot of corporate calls about their fall layoff plans."

IEEE-USA is an organizational unit of The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers created in 1973 to promote the careers and public-policy interests of the more than 235,000 electrical, electronics, computer and software engineers who are U.S. members of the IEEE. The IEEE is the world's largest technical professional society. For more information, go to http://www.ieeeusa.org.

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Last Updated: 14 October 2002
Staff Contact:  Chris McManes, c.mcmanes@ieee.org