Tech jobs: Minorities have degrees, but don't get hired

Top universities turn out black and Hispanic computer science and computer engineering graduates at twice the rate that leading technology companies hire them.

Technology companies blame the pool of job applicants for the severe shortage of blacks and Hispanics in Silicon Valley. But these findings show that claim "does not hold water," said Darrick Hamilton, professor of economics and urban policy at The New School in New York. On average, just 2% of technology workers at seven Silicon Valley companies that have released staffing numbers are black; 3% are Hispanic. But last year, 4.5% of all new recipients of bachelor's degrees in computer science or computer engineering from prestigious research universities were African American, and 6.5% were Hispanic, according to data from the Computing Research Association.