I wasn't in IT, but I was a project mgr working with a lot of IT folks from SF to San Jose. Seems every freekin' week (yes, exaggeration...) one of my "IT guys/gals" would get let go...

I left the Bay Area in April 2003 because of the job scene...I was laid off a total of about 5 times in 3 years. It's brutal out there still. I can rattle off a ton of my friends who've been laid off and unable to find IT work for months (or nearly a year) at a time.

Good luck!