687,000 U.S. High-Tech Jobs Lost in a Decade

News
By Douglas Perry
published

A new study released by the National Science Board (NSB) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) raises concerns about the global leadership of the U.S. in Science and Technology investments. The report also highlights massive job losses in high-tech.

According to the NSB, the U.S. lost about 687,000 jobs in high-tech since their peak of about 2.5 million in 2000. The organization stated that there have been "permanent" losses in an ongoing trend that affects the areas of aerospace, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications equipment, computer and office equipment as well as scientific instruments.

The NSB carefully criticized the government's approach of funding science and research by stating that there is still a $7 billion budget for the NSF, but the U.S. is quickly dropping in the global view of investment dollars. Between 1999 and 2009, the U.S. share dropped from 38 percent to 31 percent, while Asia gained from 24 to 35 percent during the same time. Especially China is growing fast, the NSB said, and is now the largest science and technology investor behind the U.S.

"Over the last decade, the world has changed dramatically," said José-Marie Griffiths, chair of the NSB committee that oversees production of the report. "It's now a world with very different actors who have made advancement in science and technology a top priority. And many of the troubling trends we're seeing are now very well established." The NSF said that it has launched a number of new initiatives designed to better position the United States "by enhancing international collaborations, improving education and establishing new partnerships between NSF-supported researchers and those in industry."

Douglas Perry
55 Comments Comment from the forums
  • SoiledBottom
    "687,000 U.S. High-Tech Jobs Lost"

    Did they check under the cushions of the couch...I found my keys and wallet there once
    Reply
  • ajay_vishvanathan
    well.. it ought to happen.. companies find that Chinese are cheaper to work with.. shifted most of their manufacturing to China.. every other product in the world carries a "Made In China" tag.. blame the companies for that not the government.. the government has limited role in this.. remember America is a capitalistic and not socialistic economy to dictate the rules..
    Reply
  • memadmax
    Yea, one of the things about a recession... I know this cause' my number is 686,999........
    Reply
  • XZaapryca
    The Chinese/Indians are cheaper, but they're not better from what I've seen. The companies I've dealt with seem to have a "good enough" attitude. Specifications are just suggestions and quality control is something to throw out the window when deadlines/expectations can't be met. Like most things in corporate America, off shoring is about dollars and shortsightedness. We're not losing to China because of their innovation, they're just the people that build the crap we think up. The dream of seamless, 24/7 HW/SW development is a crock.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    US Politicians rarely think more than 2 years ahead. Wall Street rarely thinks more than 1 quarter ahead. This outcome is hardly surprising.

    Once the patent trolls have sued all US tech companies out of existence, we're going to be left wondering just how it was that tech went the way of the auto industry.
    Reply
  • Gulli
    The NSB carefully criticized the government's approach of funding science and research by stating that there is still a $7 billion budget for the NSF, but the U.S. is quickly dropping in the global view of investment dollars. Between 1999 and 2009, the U.S. share dropped from 38 percent to 31 percent, while Asia gained from 24 to 35 percent during the same time. Especially China is growing fast, the NSB said, and is now the largest science and technology investor behind the U.S.

    As long as the government keeps investing the same percentage of GDP you can't really blame them. Yeah, sure the global percentage will drop but that's only natural because of population growth and economic growth around the world and those factors are supposed to increase the number of high tech jobs worldwide so no country should just lose jobs, unless greedy corporations start outsourcing. The government can do something about this: force corporations that outsource to pay their foreign employees the same wage they would pay an emplopyee in the home country of the corporation, or at least the minimum wage of the home country. Globalization is supposed to pull poor countries up, not drag rich countries down.
    Reply
  • doeboy
    The government helps push the business cycle. They are the ones that setup free trade which basically equals out the living standards between the two populations which means US citizens drop off the cliff. Free trade would only work in a system where both countries follow the exact same rules with the exact same enforcement mechanisms. All the regulations and things a company must comply with just to have workers in a plant are large. Reduce these or streamline them in a way that is easy to understand and that will aid in a comeback of manufacturing. Don't believe me? Look at RCRA and read through it and tell me its easy to follow. We also don't live in a capitalistic society anymore we live in a semi-oligarch society. Central bank controls interest rates(state control) and we have a banking cartel that won't be broken up because so many of their players are in key positions(see goldman sachs/jp morgan). We also have social welfare up the wazoo only getting worse. We aren't capitalists at best we are an oligarchy(corptocracy) on the way to a socialist banana republic where there are only rich and poor people.
    Reply
  • SmileyTPB1
    I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it is probably a bad idea to let the Chinese be more technologically advanced than the US.
    Reply
  • kcorp2003
    China has a larger population almost 5 times the USA. Companies simply don't hire here anymore too. Besides that, today kids thinks is cool to be bad, hates math and science. Too much entertainment. remember when i use to go to my room, means i'm boxed in without any contact. now kids go into their room = TV, consoles, computer, cell phone.
    Reply
  • Gulli
    @doeboy

    I think you got social welfare programs and unregulated capitalism mixed up there.

    All the regulations and things a company must comply with just to have workers in a plant are large. Reduce these or streamline them in a way that is easy to understand and that will aid in a comeback of manufacturing.
    Yes, manufacturing would come back, in fact it would boom, though to be fair you should also mention people would only make $1.50 an hour and get fired if they refuse to work more than 12 hours a day or operate dangerous equipment. Maybe you should visit a low-regulation country once and see how the average person lives there. Maybe take a tour of the Foxconn plant and see how their booming manufacturing sector operates, just be sure to wear a helmet when you walk outside.

    P.S. do some research and discover how US tech companies have only increased their profits over the last 10 years. The next time you hear some slimy CEO talk about how regulations are strangling his business, requiring him to outsource jobs, ask him for a graph of company profits and CEO pay, over the last 10 years, I'll bet $100 with you that he'll either try to change the subject or literally leave the room. Oh and also try asking him how it's possible that his German and Japanese counterparts, who have to deal with more regulation, employee benefits and higher effective taxes, are not complaining and are in fact thriving.
    Reply