According to the IEEE Spectrum, "the prognosis for 2002 is not all bad for EE employment and, a fairly Happy New Year is shaping up in the job market for electrical and electronics engineers. Despite the recent avalanche of layoffs in assorted industries elsewhere things are booming, including defense, health care, and patent-related fields. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, recent graduates with bachelor's degrees in electrical engineering should be greeted by a favorable job market this year. Looking ahead, the bureau further predicts overall demand for electrical engineers to remain strong, with EE employment rising 26 percent and 93,000 new positions added over the decade ending in 2008.

Economists are working overtime to predict when the U. S. economy will see an upturn, but it's too early to tell whether any significant rebound for flagging industries is in store for 2002. EE hiring is strong, though, in defense and security, medical electronics, and intellectual property (IP)."

http://www.spectrum.ieee.org/WEBONLY/resource/jan02/care.html