NEW YORK-The technology sector could be on the verge of a turnaround in terms of economic growth, according to a new report form outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which provides a quarterly technology job-cut report.
The firm said its latest report on tech-sector downsizing shows planned job cuts announced by tech firms fell by one-third during the second quarter of this year. Telecom, computer, electronics and e-commerce companies announced just fewer than 40,000 job cuts during the quarter, compared with nearly 60,000 job cuts made during the first quarter.
However, job cuts this year continue to outpace the number of job cuts made last year, said the company.
While computer firms dominated the job cuts in the tech sector during the last quarter, due largely to weak semiconductor demand, the telecom industry showed the largest improvements in the tech sector. In the telecom sector, job cuts fell 76 percent, from 35,079 in the first quarter to just 8,342 during the second quarter.
“Telecommunications is doing particularly well as new wireless technology takes off and consumers update their equipment and services,” said Rick Cobb, executive vice president of the company.