The August 1 Bureau of Labor Statistics employment situation report included the kind of gloom-and-doom that has become de riguer in this recessionary cycle: nonfarm payroll employment slipped by 51,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate rose to 5.7, a full one percent increase in the last 12 months.

But buried within the report were some statistical punches that seemed aimed right for the technology gut: Employment in the information industry <A HREF="http://blogs.zdnet.com/careers/?p=152&tag=nl.e539">declined by 13,000 in July and by 44,000 over the past 12 months.</A> Telecommunications alone lost 5,000 jobs in July.