From January to June, the tech industry shed 2% of its workers, a net loss of 115,000 jobs out of a workforce that is nearly 6 million, says analysis of U.S. labor market data by the TechAmerica Foundation, which is one of the groups to emerge out of the merger of the AeA and Information Technology Association of America earlier this year.

The job cutting impact grows if measured over the 12 months to June. The tech industry lost 224,100 jobs, a 3.7% percent drop over the period. TechAmerica measures employment in the tech industry, which counts everyone from engineers to accountants, in that industry.

In contrast, The TechServe Alliance, a group that represents IT services firms, analyzes a different set of U.S. government data differently, focusing on occupation. That data suggest IT workers took a slightly bigger job loss hit, when industries outside of tech are included as well. In June, IT employment was at 3.8 million, for a year-over-year decline of about 5%. But the decline in June was just .4%, indicating some moderation.

Josh James, director of research and industry analysis at the TechAmerica Foundation, points out that the federal government's economic recovery bill - the nearly $800 billion measure approved earlier this year - will soon be kicking in. That bill includes , especially in health care and broadband deployment.