It's staycation time for U.S. electronics industry

The dog days of summer are at hand, and we remain under the unhealthful haze of a recession that has lingered like a stalled air mass over the economy. The United States continues to lose nearly half a million jobs a month as the unemployment rate threatens to hit double digits.

Electronics engineers are feeling the heat. According to the IEEE, unemployment among U.S. EEs nearly doubled in the second quarter, to 8.6 percent--a record high that was well above the 7 percent peak of the dot-com bust.

Reports on the morning radio say President Barack Obama's popularity is waning in key states. Some observers are calling for a second stimulus package, saying the Administration underestimated the depth of the economy's woes.

Take a chill pill, people. Before we push the panic button, let's cool out a minute and reflect on our admittedly ugly situation at this juncture.

President Obama called the economic crisis the worst in recent history when he entered the White House just six months ago. Hard to see any underestimating there.

Then the government pumped nearly $1 trillion into the financial system so it would not collapse on itself. Not exactly what anyone would call a happy investment in our future, but a prudent move to make sure we didn't sit on our hands and watch a summer rerun of the Great Depression.

Six months later, we at EE Times are tracking the slice of the government's $787 billion stimulus package that is aimed at electronics. Based on our firsthand reporting, it's clear the program is still in its early days.