We've talked periodically about the impact that the economy's downturn is having on the job market.  Last week, in the new Outside Voices blog that recruitment guru Joel Cheesman is writing for U.S. News and World Report, the topic is compensation in traditionally hot fields like technology, finance, and government contracting.  

Joel cites a May 2008 JobFox report on the most wanted U.S. job candidates. According to the report, there is still an extremely high demand for these professional and highly skilled employees, but there are budget constraints and cutbacks that make it difficult to offset the demand for jobs. This has driven businesses to lower the salaries they offer for some of the hottest jobs on the market.

Most salary decreases are around $10,000 for technology jobs, product management, network/systems administration, governmental contracting, and finance.  The good news?  It won't stay this way forever.  Says Joel: "These are high-profile jobs with high demand so salary adjustments are imminent when the economy strengthens. Employees who are able to look far enough into the future know that taking a job at a lower salary today is a smart bet for tomorrow."

So here's a question for you all: would you take a job for less money than you'd have commanded at this time last year
either to keep yourself out of the unemployment line, or to break into a competitive field?