Will Katrina affect Java jobs in US?

[Glen Cai]

Any thoughts?

[Theodore Casser]

Directly? I doubt there'll be a long term effect, unless it's a matter of firms in the affected areas shutting down due to damage.

Indirectly... that's more of a possibility, but I would foresee that more of a trickle-down effect from the rise in energy prices and potential slow-down to the economy as a result of the hurricane. And in that event, it won't just be limited to the Java field, but probably across the board in the country.

[Jason Cox]

While I'm sure there were plenty of technology jobs in the city, did New Orleans have much of a reputation as a technology center?

I think the estimate of 400,000 lost jobs is probably accurate. The question is, how many of those jobs were technology based.

Overall it's probably minimal impact. More than likely it will create increased competition in other markets as those displaced programmers look for new places to work. Fortunately the job market seems to have improved so hopefully those displaced can find new work quickly.

[Tim Holloway]

If Houston or Atlanta got taken out, I'd consider it serious. I'm not familiar with New Orleans as a major technical Mecca.

However, knocking a full percentage point off the entire U.S. economy can't be disregarded.

[Glen Cai]

How many percentage of the Java jobs that 1% of the growth rate translats to?

[Anand Prabhu]

Originally posted by Glen Cai:
How many percentage of the Java jobs that 1% of the growth rate translats to?

I don't believe there are statistics on Java jobs. And it is tough to determine the number of jobs lost as a percentage of the economic drop.But 1% drop is pretty significant. The last time there was such a sudden drop unrelated to recession, to my knowledge, was in 1997 when GM workers went on a strike. I do see a reconstruction boom once the dust settles down but I don't think that will help IT much.