As Qualcomm readies to cut thousands from its global workforce, what kind of job market will displaced employees find in San Diego if they want to stay here?
The answer is not as clear as you might expect.
Some experts say the job market is healthy. The countywide unemployment rate is just 5 percent. Local employers have added 38,500 jobs so far this year. Qualcomm lures top-tier engineers to San Diego from around the globe. There’s plenty of demand from the region’s defense, medical device and software outfits for technology talent with a Qualcomm pedigree, say experts.
“If you have to lose a job, this is probably one of the best times for it to happen,” said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Point Loma Nazarene University. “In technology, engineers are in demand, and they can find jobs in San Diego.”
Other experts. however, say the region’s telecommunications and semiconductor sectors are not what they used to be in terms of employment.
Cricket parent Leap Wireless was sold to AT&T and downsized. Nokia has shrunk its footprint locally after being purchased by Microsoft, shedding 129 workers in July alone. Over in Orange County, Broadcom — where skills of Qualcomm employees might best translate — is in the throes of being purchased by Avago Technologies, a Singapore-based serial acquirer that aims to wring $750 million in annual cost savings out of the deal.
San Diego’s semiconductor/electronic components manufacturing jobs declined from 7,700 workers to 5,200 jobs over the past decade, based on data from the Employment Development Department. Telecommunications employment fell from 15,200 to 8,400 over the same period.
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