51 of Nation’s Top 60 Metro Areas Add High-Tech Jobs
Published: 24 June 2008
by Staff
Some 51 of 60 “cybercities” added high-tech jobs in 2006, according to the latest AeA survey of the US tech world.
Seattle led the nation, adding 7,800 net jobs. The next largest net gains between 2005 and 2006 occurred in metro New York (6,400) and Washington (6,100).
On a percentage basis, Riverside-San Bernardino, CA, saw the fastest job growth in 2006, at 12%. (2006 data are the most recent available at the metropolitan level.)
Christopher Hansen, president and CEO of AeA, said, "High-tech jobs make critical contributions to local economies in terms of innovation. They also pay extremely well – the average tech industry wage is 87% higher than the average private sector wage. Fifty-six cybercities had wage differentials higher than 50% and three cybercities – Austin, San Diego and Sacramento – had differentials higher than 100%.”
The leading metro areas by high-tech employment for the year were metro New York (316,500 jobs), Washington (295,800 jobs), San Jose/Silicon Valley (225,300 jobs), Boston (191,700 jobs), and Dallas-Fort Worth (176,000 jobs).
San Jose/Silicon Valley led the nation in concentration of high-tech workers, with 286 high-tech workers per 1,000 private sector workers. Boulder ranked second, with 230 high-tech workers per 1,000 private sector workers. Huntsville, Durham and Washington rounded out the top five.
San Jose/Silicon Valley dominated the manufacturing sectors. It ranked near the top in seven of the nine high-tech manufacturing categories. Metro New York led in many of the tech service sectors, with the highest employment in telecommunications, Internet services, R&D and testing labs, and computer training services. Washington led in computer systems design and related services and engineering services, with nearly three times as many industry workers in these fields as San Jose/Silicon Valley.
This is the AEA’s first national Cybercities report since 2000.
