ITAA Debunked in Denver
ITAA Debunked in Denver
Date: Tuesday, May 21, 2002 8:42 AM
*** H-1B NEWSLETTER ***
Get the Facts on H-1B at
www.ZaZona.com
Richard Armstrong runs a good anti H-1B site at
http://www.hireamericancitizens.org/ Check out this new Denver Post
article
where he debunks ITAA's new job shortage propaganda campaign.
I recommend going to this webpage because there is a hilarious table of
job
shortages put out by the ITAA. It shows that there is a shortage of more
than 1 million computer/IT jobs.
http://www.denverpost.com/framework/0%2C1918%2C36%257E33%257E624526%257E%2C0
0.html
Denver Post
Tech industry report optimistic
Local execs skeptical of recovery, new-hire numbers
By Jennifer Beauprez
Denver Post Business Writer
Tuesday, May 21, 2002 - A new industry report paints an optimistic
future
for the nation's technology workers, saying hiring managers expect to
beef
up the payrolls in the next 12 months.
But the report, which forecasts another tech worker shortfall despite
the
economy, was greeted with skepticism by local executives.
They say the economic recovery in Colorado will take longer than the
report
suggests.
The Information Technology Association of America, in its annual
workforce
survey, reported that managers expect to hire 1.1 million tech workers -
from computer programmers to security specialists - but half of those
jobs
may go unfilled because of a lack of qualified workers.
"The study is an indicator that the economy may have turned the corner,"
said Bob Cohen, senior vice president of the ITAA. "Hiring managers have
optimistic expectations, but whether they're fully realized remains to
be
seen."
U.S. companies hired 2.1 million information technology workers over the
past year but dismissed 2.6 million.
Tech firms cut 15 percent of their staffs, while non-tech companies axed
4
percent of their staffs.
The ITAA survey of 532 hiring managers made Chad Sanderson chuckle.
"Those numbers are pretty optimistic," said Sanderson, spokesman for
Spatial
Corp., a Westminster software firm.
He said Spatial will replace a handful of tech jobs but has not created
any
new information technology positions.
"They're trying to paint a pretty picture," Sanderson said. "We may be
experiencing a leveling out, but I don't see it coming back that
quickly."
About 528,496 American tech workers lost their jobs last year as
companies
slashed budgets and cut spending on computer systems and software.
Colorado
tech and telecom companies reported about 48,000 job cuts since January
2001. Not all of those jobs were technical in nature.
The demand for workers in the Western region, which includes Colorado
and 12
other states, is still down 71 percent between 2000 and 2002, the report
states.
Nationwide, demand for workers is up 27 percent over last year,
according to
the survey. Those hiring managers said the hot jobs in the future will
be in
computer programming, tech support and network design.
Large companies expect to hire more information security specialists, as
well, the report stated.
Tom Melagrano, CEO of Compri Consulting, a tech consulting firm in
Denver,
said word is just starting to trickle down about more computer and
software
projects on the horizon.
"We're hearing a lot of positive talk about projects, but it's not quite
happening yet," Melagrano said. "But it's a lot more optimistic than
last
year or even the first quarter, when people said, "Don't even call me.'
"
Tucker Hart Adams, chief economist for U.S. Bank, said it may take a
while
before companies decide to start boosting their payrolls again.
"When things pick up, firms don't immediately hire," Adams said. "They
work
the people they've got harder until they're convinced it's not a
short-term
thing."
Adams said she expects demand for tech workers in the future, but she
said
the study's 12-month timeframe for 1.1 million workers is optimistic.
Denver computer consultant Richard Armstrong said he thinks the ITAA's
study
is a political ploy to hire cheaper foreign labor.
Armstrong, who runs the website HireAmericanCitizens.com, believes the
industry trade group wants to create a false demand to persuade Congress
of
the need for an H1-B visa program despite thousands of unemployed
Americans.
The government allows 195,000 H1-B visas to be issued each year,
allowing
companies to temporarily hire foreign workers, in particular tech
workers.
"They want cheap labor," Armstrong said. "There's never been a shortage.
It
was the industry lobbyists who created that lie. They've told it so
often
and so many times that many people believe it as fact."
Cohen of the ITAA said the study is not related to the H1-B visa debate.
"It's a random survey of hiring managers," he said. "This is a snapshot
of
their point of view of their hiring plans for the coming year."
Back to archives