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HIGH TECH EMPLOYERS ARE HIRING
AND PAYING ABOVE AVERAGE SALARIES
High-tech companies are rapidly adding jobs and paying workers more than other industries in metropolitan areas stretching from New York to Seattle, according to a new study looking at the nation’s top “cybercities.”
In a report being released in June 2008, the American Electronics Association found 51 of the top 60 U.S. cybercities — those with the most technology workers — added high-tech jobs in 2006. The report also found the average technology industry wage was 87 percent higher than the average private sector salary.
Members of the American Electronics Association include Apple Inc., Google, Inc., Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp., Google Inc., and Yahoo Inc.
"Although the AeA report is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2006 — the most recent year available — the industry continues to experience robust growth even as much of the rest of the economy slows," said Christopher Hansen, president and chief executive of the trade group.
“The tech sector is not laying people off,” Hansen said. “If anything, the industry is having trouble getting enough people with the right credentials.”
Recent data show the tech sector is “climbing back to ’pre-bubble-bursting’ levels of employment and activity,” Hansen said. The bubble of the late 1990s was the product of “an exuberance of investment” in companies that often lacked solid fundamentals, but the current growth is being driven by a more stable industry that has become integrated into the broader economy, he added.
Among the report’s key findings:
• Seattle led the nation in technology job growth in 2006, adding
7,800 positions.
• The New York metropolitan area had the most high-tech
employees in 2006 with 316,500; followed by San Jose, in the
heart of Silicon Valley, with 225,300 tech workers; and Boston
with 191,700.
• Silicon Valley had the nation’s highest concentration of high-
tech workers with 286 industry employees for every 1,000
private sector workers.
• The Washington, D.C., region led the nation in technology job
growth between 2001 and 2006, adding 7,500 workers.
• Detroit, Michigan, and Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Florida were
among those that lost high-tech jobs. Hubs including Seattle
and Silicon Valley, still don’t have as many tech workers as they
did before the bubble burst.
The AeA report stresses that continued tech sector growth is not guaranteed in today’s global economy. To remain competitive, U.S. cities need to improve the quality of elementary and high school education — particularly in math and science — support research universities, and invest in broadband networks and other critical infrastructure.
AeA argues that federal policymakers also need to invest more in research and development, while allowing more skilled foreign workers into the U.S. and promoting open trade policies.
Report Shows High-Tech Is Doing Well |
