Thought the report below from cw360 was interesting, particularly the final paragraph: The demand for IT professionals has plummeted to its lowest level since the last recession as businesses rein back their IT budgets and put major e-commerce projects on hold. The number of IT jobs advertised in the press in the second quarter of the year has fallen below 15,000 for the first time since the early 1990s, the latest Computer Weekly/SSP jobs survey reveals. The downturn is so severe that some commentators have suggested that the slump could prove longer and deeper than the 1991-1993 recession, which led to more than 30,000 job losses. Internet specialists, including administrators, Web designers, authors and editors have born the brunt of the slowdown, with the number of jobs advertised down 75% compared to the same time last year. Demand for Java has fallen by 60%, with finance companies cutting back their intake by a half, software suppliers by a third and hardware suppliers by two thirds. Demand for XML and Wap specialists is also beginning to peter out. Demand for systems developers has dropped dramatically, with the number of jobs advertised falling by between a third and a half compared to the same time last year. Experts predict that the job market is unlikely to recover until the telecoms suppliers kick-start a new generation of e-commerce projects by rolling out broadband access to businesses and homes. "The big all-singing all-dancing graphical e-commerce projects have had the chop because no one has the bandwidth to make use of them," said Philip Virgo, strategic adviser to the Institute for the Management of Information Systems. "This recession is already worse than 1991 and has yet to bottom out. It will not recover until the roll-out of broadband has re-started." IT departments are increasingly focusing their efforts on projects that offer a quick payback, such as adding low-bandwidth Internet access to existing enterprise systems. This has led to a growing demand for communication and network specialists, which now account for 11% of all jobs advertised, compared to 5% at the same time last year. Seems like the lower end projects are where the work is, more for Solutions Providers/ Integrators than for bulk sales like Cisco. We don't seem to be seeing much of a recession yet, although it's apparently already worse than the one ten years ago. Message Posted at: http://www.groupstudy.com/form/read.php?f=7&i=15556&t=15556 -------------------------------------------------- FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
