WASHINGTON - The U.S. high-tech industry lost 25,000 jobs in 2004, dropping to 5.6 million, say a study released today by AeA. The decline represents a considerable slowdown in technology jobs lost, compared to the 333,000 jobs lost in 2003 and the 612,000 jobs lost in 2002.

"The good news is that the technology industry looks to have turned a corner," said AeA president and CEO William T. Archey. "For the first time since 2000, both software services and engineering and tech services added jobs. Each of these tech sectors added over 30,000 net new jobs to the economy in 2004. This is especially positive news because tech jobs pay 84% more than the average private sector job."

AeA found that all but four states lost high-tech jobs in 2003, the most recent year for which state data are available. California and Texas lost the greatest number of tech jobs, shedding some 67,800 and 32,900 jobs, respectively. Despite these losses, California and Texas remained the leading cyberstates by employment, followed by New York and Florida. However, Virginia displaced Massachusetts in 2003, becoming the fifth largest state by technology employment. And, while Colorado remained the nation's leading cyberstate by concentration of high-tech workers, Virginia also moved up by this metric to second place.

The report also found that venture capital investment in the technology industry rose for the first time since 2000. High-tech venture capital investment totaled $11.8 billion in 2004, compared to $10.7 billion in 2003. Archey stated, "While the tech industry is beginning to make some headway, we need to be aware of increased challenges to our lead in science and technology as competition from the rest of the world intensifies. We need to pay particular attention to the factors that drive technology innovation, primarily a highly educated and skilled workforce and research and development."