There isn’t a shortage of engineers, there’s a shortage of CHEAP engineers.

There really isn’t a shortage of engineering jobs, either, it’s just hard to get one because:
Companies have worked themselves into a corner with their inability or unwillingness to train anyone that doesn’t fit the exact specifications of a job requirement, even if the candidate has skills that can easily cross over into something else.

Companies insist on getting salary requirements up-front, which makes it impossible to get anywhere close to a negotiation phase.

Companies have decided to farm out recruitment to staffing firms, creating another layer of people who don’t know what they’re talking about filtering out resumes for people who don’t know what they’re talking about.

PhD’s are going to have a hard time finding a job because PhD’s are extraordinarily specialized in their chosen field. The jobs are probably out there. Local jobs are probably going to be scarce.

The best way to find a job is to bypass all of the HR people and the headhunters and have a friend recommend you.

Know a Sharepoint expert with a security clearance who wants to move to Florida? Neither do I… but I have about 8 job reqs.