Things are looking up for US physicists — at least for now. A recent survey (http://www.aip.org/statistics) carried out by the American Institute of Physics (AIP) among its members shows that unemployment has gone down and that salaries have significantly increased since the last survey in 1998. Unemployment among respondents was at 0.6% in 2000, the lowest in a decade. Respondents working in industry, medical services, university-affiliated research institutes and universities with 9–10-month contracts reported median salaries 5–14% higher than the median levels in 1998.

But salaries varied widely by sector and sub-discipline. For example, AIP members working in hospitals or medical services earned a median income of $100,000, whereas respondents working in 4-year colleges on 9–10-month contracts earned half that figure.

As one might expect, the good news does not come without some qualifications. Because the survey only covers AIP members, the results could be somewhat skewed. Presumably, the survey did not include any disgruntled physicists-turned-cab-drivers who let their membership lapse.

Overall, any gains at all in any sub-population of US physics is cause for celebration. But US physicists may want to be cautious about celebrating too much, because the past decade has shown that gains can be fleeting.

The present climate is no exception. President George W. Bush's proposed budget favours tax cuts over new investments in domestic programmes. Still, physicists funded by the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health should face continued good fortune because those agencies receive strong support from both the president and Congress.