Wireless Networks' Job-Killing Effect

There are many reasons U.S. companies give for their lack of robust hiring—from weak consumer spending to uncertainty over the direction of government policies on debt and spending. But a closer look at hiring provides a more nuanced picture. Some industries have significantly boosted employment over the past year while others continue to shed workers. To be sure, even those adding jobs are hiring far fewer than would be needed to put America's 14.1 million unemployed back to work.

The US has bled telecom jobs as cell phones have transformed the way people communicate. Americans are relying less and less on the hard-to-maintain copper lines that link homes to the national telephone network, and more on mobile phones and fiber-optic connections, which are easier to keep running. Telecommunications employed 869,900 people in June, 28,400 fewer than a year before and about 560,000 fewer people than a decade ago, according to the Labor Department. At Verizon Communications, for example, 11,900 wire line employees took buyouts in 2010 -- a year when its number of wired access lines dwindled to 26 million, compared to 31 million at the end of 2008. "There's going to be, hopefully a stabilization period where we're now back to a stable employment base that we can continue to grow," said Marc Reed, Verizon's executive vice president for human resources. "But at this point in time, there is a disconnect between the legacy of where we've been over many, many years versus the competitive realities of the marketplace."

Corporate investment in new technology have produced decent job growth in key areas of the tech sector over the past year. Jobs in computer systems design, which includes professionals who design, install and program computer systems, rose by about 70,000 between June 2010 and June 2011. In June alone, the category added almost 6,000 professional jobs, one of the largest increases of any area. Accenture PLC, which puts together computer systems for global corporations, said it is on track to hire some 5,000 people in the U.S. this year out of 66,000 global hires. "We are anticipating and planning for similar results next year," said John Campagnino, head of global recruiting for Accenture, whose fiscal year ends Aug. 31. Many startups are on a hiring tear as they receive large infusions of venture capital in the latest tech boom. Foursquare, which raised $50 million in June and makes a wireless application for smartphones, said it would add 25 employees this year to its 75, mostly software engineers.