but they usually find jobs right away. Like within a month or two, if not, they just start their own project/startup.
I know this for a fact/personal anecdotal evidence.
It seems that this downturn is hitting more the general work force, and people that do more 'soft' type of work: managers, marketing, pr, etc.
If you are a hard core engineer, you shouldn't have trouble finding a job.
The exception will be people that just came out of college, or with less than two years of experience. It seems that right now companies are hiring more experienced/hit the ground running, engineers.
During boom times, when they can't find these kind of engineers, they will hire less experienced ones, and be willing to train them and become productive.
