Industry Barometer

According to Electronic Design's most recent poll, the outlook for design projects is trending up nicely as the year comes to a close. Only 30% of respondents are concerned about slowdowns or layoffs. That's 10 percentage points less than three months ago, putting the current confidence level on par with the outlook back in December 2004. More than half of designers indicate either a good or increased amount of projects, and 26%—the highest percentage all year— say they may be facing work overload. Although personal outlook dipped in mid-year, nearly three quarters of respondents will enter 2006 with an adequate workload and job security.

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