Every sector of the US Economy has felt the global economic crisis, some more than others; banking, auto manufacturing and hospitality industry to name a few.
Still, some of the industry sectors we are most known for in the millennium have also been hard hit, harder than anyone cares to admit.
So, let's take a look at Silicon Valley and that realm shall we? How is Silicon Valley and the US High Tech Computer Sector Doing, we ask? Well, we do not have to read very many headlines to consider the reality; AMD sales of computer chips down some 35% now, Intel over 20%; Yahoo lays off 600 employees after poor quarter, for example.
Of course things just got a little worse as new unemployment rates came in from computer central in April of 2009; Silicon Valley unemployment pegged at 11% and expected to rise steeply before the recession ends.
Worse, it was promised by Larry Ellison to shareholders as he made a bid for Sun Micro that if Oracle buys Sun they will cut about 10,000 or more jobs.
So, when you ask how things are doing, you can see; not so hot.
On top of that we see Google cutting staff to keep its profits moving.
Additionally, venture capital funding is at the lowest in many years and not just in silicon valley, across the country, and this is where many new start-ups are put into the pipeline, small fast moving entrepreneurial companies that drive innovation and keep the industry fresh.
Think on this.