I can't remember any layoffs in IT in the 1990s. During the 1980s RayGun / Lyin Brian depression contractors had to take employee jobs, but "Computing Canada" ran a story about continued strong employment in IT outside Toronto. The article made a snide comment about having to assume that the unemployed IT folks in Toronto were either poorly qualified or tied to underwater mortgages and homes that could not be sold after the Real Estate Boom went bust along with the economy.

When times are tough automation and process improvement are even more important than ever. 

The RayGun / Lying Brian and Dubbya's Dad depressions were like alternate realities of Gold Collar Full Employment for competent Computer People.