The news media is constantly hyping the latest poll. Whether it’s what people think about healthcare, Afghanistan, or the latest contestants on So You Think You Can Dance, someone somewhere is always telling us what somebody else is thinking.
But here at Electronic Design, we know what really matters to you. That’s why we conduct our engineering salary and opinion survey every year. Our annual survey provides the industry’s most complete assessment of current salary and compensation trends from the perspective of those on the front lines so you can make more informed decisions about your career.
This year, close to 2500 engineering professionals took part in our survey. Respondents came from a cross section of industries, including industrial controls (11%), communications systems (8%), government and military contractors (8%), and R&D firms (7%). Survey respondents also came from companies of all different sizes, ranging from those with gross annual revenues of more than $1 billion (24%) to those with less than $5 million (32%).
We expanded our survey this year to include questions about the recession as well. We wanted to understand the impact the economic downturn has had on your organization’s revenues, profits, and expenditures. We asked you to let us know about the steps that were taken to control costs and what effect you think the recession will have on the future of your organization.
And, in light of the administration’s initiatives to address energy efficiency and conservation, we thought we’d find out what kind of commitments your company has made to the use of alternative energy technologies and reducing its carbon footprint, as well as its plans to take advantage of emerging market opportunities by developing its own eco-friendly products. In addition, we were interested in any environmentally conscious practices you might be engaging in personally both at work and at home.
UNEMPLOYMENT SOARS FOR EES
We didn’t need our own poll to tell us this was a rough year for the engineering profession. According to figures released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the unemployment rate for U.S. electrical and electronics engineers (EEs) hit a new record in the first half of 2009, while the rate for all engineers increased for a second straight quarter.
The fact that the 8.6% unemployment rate for EEs remains slightly below a national average that’s hovering around 10% is little consolation for those who are out of work or concerned about possible layoffs.
That record high of 8.6% in the second quarter of 2009 for EEs was an especially dramatic jump because it was more than twice the 4.1% rate recorded for the first quarter of the year. It was also significantly higher than the previous quarterly record of 7%, set in the first quarter of 2003.
For all engineers, the unemployment rate jumped from 3.9% in the first quarter to 5.5% in the second quarter. The rate for computer professionals steadied at 5.4%, after a significant jump in the first quarter. In comparison, the second-quarter unemployment rate for all professional workers showed a relatively modest uptick, from 3.7% to 4.3%.
The BLS reported that 29,000 EEs were unemployed in the second quarter, up from 13,000 in the first quarter. On a small positive note, the total number of employed EEs seems to have stabilized, actually rising 2.3% quarter-to-quarter—but at levels well below those of the past decade.
“Technology drives our economy, which means engineering unemployment is a bellwether for recovery and job creation,” said IEEE-USA president Gordon Day. “These new data suggest we’ve got a long way to go as the United States attempts to regain its economic footing.”
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