The Brookings study looked at the impact of offshoring in major markets and found that it may eliminate as many as one in five programming, software engineering and back-office jobs in certain markets, such as Boulder, Colo., San Francisco and San Jose. In 28 metropolitan areas, 2.6 percent to 4.3 percent of the jobs may be lost to offshoring by 2015, with much higher percentages for those working in IT.

Robert Atkinson, a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings and co-author of the study, said that the reaction from reading the report shouldn't be panic, and he believes there will be offsetting job increases. Demand for higher-level occupations, such as integrators, may increase. "Certain jobs are more risky than others," he said.

Ron Hira, a vice president of IEEE-USA, said the Brookings report will be a wake-up call for metro areas with vulnerable labor forces, but he also believes that the interpretation of the data understates the impact of offshoring and that job losses will be higher. To help illustrate the trend, Hira said, Brookings should have cited some specific examples, such as Accenture Ltd.'s recent announcement that it will soon have more employees in India than in the U.S.

What is more certain is that Giovanetto will return to teach his class. He worked for a large vendor in 1999 when he was laid off, but he had seen the warning signs and had a contract to work as an independent consultant the following day. He shared his lessons from that experience, as well as those he has gleaned from hundreds of others who have attend his classes at the IBM Share user conferences.

A layoff can come for many reasons, such as a merger or spin-off or economic changes. Most workers will detect some warning signs, such as seeing a manager's office doors closed more often and having formerly positive feedback on job performance suddenly turn negative, Giovanetto said. Memos outlining new cost-saving initiatives or "stupid cost-cutting" measures, such as reducing office supplies, are another tip-off, he said. He recommends reading a company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, as well as networking with customers and competitors who may have insights.