On the Job: Dot-commers still trying to find their way

The dot-com bubble burst more than three years ago, but local tech workers are still struggling with high unemployment rates and cloudy prospects, a new report said.

The jobless rate among Washington information technology workers stood at 10.6 percent last year, far higher than the 7.3 percent rate for the entire state during that time period, according to the report,

sponsored by the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, or WashTech, an advocacy group for high-tech workers.

The ranks of data processing workers around Seattle have also thinned since peaking at 66,109 in 2001, though they are apparently stabilizing around 56,000 and remain above 1999 levels, according to the study, conducted by the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Urban Economic Development.

"Rather than a short-term blip on the employment radar, the low employment growth rates for today's high-tech sector show every sign of persisting," researchers wrote.

The report also paints a picture of a tech work force that may not be as young as some think. In 2002, the average age of Washington IT workers was 35.6, compared with the overall average of 39.5 in Seattle.

Seattle tech firms also continue to hire a large number of temporary or contract workers, with contingent workers averaging nearly 11 percent of the region's tech workers from 1995 to 2001, the report found.

WashTech also highlighted the finding that 96 percent of local contingent workers would prefer full-time work.

JOB CUTS

A grim holiday season? Here's a sobering thought for the Labor Day weekend -- if your company is still shedding workers, you're more likely to be laid off in the final third of the year.

The culprit is next-year planning, when tweaking budgets and business plans often dictates staffing levels, according to a review of job cutting data from 1995 through 2002 by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., the Chicago-based outplacement and research firm.

Average monthly cuts were 80,858 jobs from September through December for those years, compared with 64,914 jobs in the preceding eight months.

But the data also point to an interesting, popular myth: If a company is downsizing, it's not hiring. In fact, some of the biggest job cutters could be among the most prodigious recruiters because of the need to fill revamped operations, Challenger, Gray noted.

"Many companies may pare workers in an unprofitable area of the company while hiring workers for another area that is assured of better results," said John Challenger, the firm's chief executive officer. Common infections: Struggling with computer viruses? You are not alone.

Windows users have been treated to a steady stream of worms, viruses and other bugs even before the appearance of the "blaster" and "Sobig" viruses last month. According to a survey of more than 1,000 adults, nearly a third had dealt personally with a computer infection in the past two years. Additionally, more people, 43 percent, said they considered their work computers more secure than their machines at home. Only 17 percent said they were less protected from viruses and hackers at work.

The random-dialing telephone survey was conducted last month for Edelman, the international public relations firm based in Chicago and New York.

UNION NEWS

Labor peace in SeaTac: Workers and the SeaTac Hilton and DoubleTree hotels finally resolved their differences last week, as union members endorsed four-year contracts.

The ratification ends 12 weeks of tough negotiations, marked by pickets and a vote to authorize a strike, if necessary.

SAVE THE DATE

Sept. 10: Seasonal Employment Job Fair, 4-7 p.m., Lewis County Mall, Chehalis.

Contact: Brenda O'Connor at 360-740-6861

Sept. 11: Snohomish County Job Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Everett Community College, 2000 Tower St., Everett.

Contact: Betsy Shields at 425 388-9196

Sept. 17: Puget Sound Regional Partnership Retail and Seasonal Hiring Job Fair, 10-11 a.m.: WorkFirst program participants, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: WorkSource participants and general public. (Free booths for employers with multiple openings.) Seattle Center, Northwest Room (Rainier), 305 Harrison St. Seattle. Contact 206-389-2570

Sept. 20: Thurston County WorkSource Partners "Career Connections" Job Fair, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., The Olympia Community Center, 222 Columbia Street N., Olympia. Contact: DyAnn Davis-Ashlock 360-407-5073 or Chuck 360-754-4113 ext. 117

P-I reporter Paul Nyhan, who covers labor and the economy, compiles "On the Job." He can be reached at 206-448-8145 or paulnyhan@seattlepi.com. This report includes information from P-I news services.

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