No one has mentioned the fact that the companies that cut engineering the most, value engineers the least. So when you go in to work for one of these "hollowed out" companies you are forced to be at the whim of sales, marketing, accounting, and finance, because those are the "important" people...
The Federal Reserve Regional Banks have reported an increase in manufacturing activity in the central states. They also reported that states that were affected the worse by the housing bust are still having trouble and some states are even in danger of going back into a recession (eg. Nevada)...
