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Last updated 3:13AM ET
May 26, 2012
KPLU Local News
KPLU Local News
Recovery Debate: Is Tech Sector Hiring?
by KPLU business and labor reporter Bellamy Pailthorp (2010-09-13)
Job Fair at Eastern Washington University Flickr photo courtesy Eastern Washington University
SEATTLE, WA (KPLU) - What will bring our nation's economy out of the doldrums and put people back to work? A degree in computer science was once seen as a sure bet for young college grads. And the Seattle area is known as a hot-bed for those skills. But recent headlines say high-tech companies are slow to hire and that there's still significant outsourcing going on. That's tarnishing high tech's image as the sector most likely to lead the economic recovery.

But the situation's not as bad as it may seem.

A recent article on the front page of the New York Times questioned the tech sector's ability to lead a recovery. Its headline sites "jobs going abroad" and paints a picture of a field that has become overly cautious about hiring.

Calls to local industry watchers here did not confirm that scenario.
Desiree Phair is the regional labor economist for Seattle King County.
She says before the recession, the tech sector was robust. It showed reliable growth of 1-2% every month.

"That's not the case right now. The tech sector did certainly feel the recession. However, it does still see growth month to month more often than many other sectors. And it is still projected to grow."

Regional statistics show more openings in tech sector jobs than in any other field. And computer related occupations are by far the fastest growing in Washington State. So when the New York Times article came out last Tuesday, it made the rounds in the blogosphere. Many who teach high tech skills were left scratching their heads.

"Microsoft is hiring, Google has grown from nothing to 500 engineers in the Seattle area in the past few years. Facebook just moved here."

Professor Ed Lazowska teaches Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Washington. He says they hold a job fair for their students twice a year. They're not seeing signs of trouble.

"In recent years it's been tremendously oversubscribed, meaning that we have far more companies attempting to hire than we have space to accommodate in our building. You know, they sort of line up."

Lazowska says outsourcing of tech jobs overseas is a trend he thinks the nation needs to keep an eye on, but it still represents only a small fraction of the jobs.

For More Information:

New York Times: "Tech Sector, Slow to Hire, Unlikely to Lead Recovery



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