Leaders of IEEE-USA’s Career and Workforce Policy Committee (CWPC) say they are cautiously optimistic about signs of recovery in American engineering labor markets, rebounding from the severe recession that has plagued the U.S. and world economies over the past two years.

The collapse of the subprime mortgage lending bubble in September 2007 marked the beginning of America’s (and the world’s) worst financial crisis since the Great Depression (Civilian unemployment reached 10.2 percent in October 2009). The subsequent failure of major financial institutions, automobile manufacturers and parts companies froze consumer demand and jobs creating investment across the economy.

However, according to data recently released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in three high-tech job categories — electrical and electronics engineers (EEs); software engineers; and computer scientists and systems analysts — returned to levels last seen in 2008.