I think that's because less people writing computer programs are calling themselves "programmers". There were one million "Software Developers" in 2012, accord

I think that's because less people writing computer programs are calling themselves "programmers". There were one million "Software Developers" in 2012, according to the same source: http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm http://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/s... I'm not sure if this refutes your larger point or not, since I can't find numbers for 1990 for this category with a cursory look.