Study: IT job cuts in Q2 down; lowest level since 2000

14.07.2006
Fueled by an increase in consumer technology spending and a resurgence of Internet businesses, IT job cuts in the U.S. fell 26 percent in the second quarter of the year to their lowest quarterly total since 2000, according to a study released Thursday by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Tech sector job cuts fell to 29,226 for the quarter ending June 30, down from 39,379 in the first quarter of the year, according to the study. The latest figure is the lowest since there were 26,583 job cuts reported in the Challenger study in the third quarter of 2000.

The second quarter numbers are 26.4 percent lower than the same period a year ago, when the study listed 39,720 IT job cuts.

For the first half of this year, the number of tech job cuts, 68,605, is 31 percent lower than in the same period of 2005, when 99,257 tech cuts were announced.

Tech sector jobs include those in the telecommunications, computer, electronics and e-commerce industries, according to the study.

But all the news is not good, according to the study. Recent rises in energy costs could soon affect IT spending and hiring across the economy, said James Pedderson, a spokesman for Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas.