Tech Industry Jobs Drop 2 Percent

While the U.S. high-tech industry shed 115,000 jobs between January and June 2009, a 1.9 percent decline, it still faired better than the overall private sector, according to a report released on Wednesday by the TechAmerica Foundation.

The report, which is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, found that from June 2008, when the financial crisis and economic downturn began gaining momentum, through June 2009, the technology industry lost 224,100 jobs, a 3.7 percent decline. But the technology sector weathered the downturn better than the overall private sector, which shed jobs at a rate of 5.1 percent over that same time period, the report found.

The report also found that the losses were greatest for U.S. technology manufacturers, which shed 69,500 net jobs in the first half of 2009. High-tech services employment was also down from January to June of 2009, dropping 45,500 jobs. Engineering and tech services lost 21,500 jobs, communications services shed 13,600 jobs, and software services dropped 10,400 jobs during the first half of 2009.