A study released today by US high tech trade association AeA shows that in 2004 the US high-tech industry lost 25,000 jobs, dropping to 5.6 million. This decline in 2004 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 report, AeA’s annual “Cyberstates 2005: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry,” details national and state trends in high-tech employment, wages, exports and other economic indicators.
“The good news is that the technology industry looks to have turned a corner,” said AeA’s 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 percent more than the average private sector job.”
Cyberstates 2005 Key Facts:
• US tech employment was down in 2004 by 25,000 or by 0.5 percent.
• US high-tech manufacturing industry employment fell by 2 percent, losing 31,900 jobs between 2003 and 2004.
• The biggest 2003-2004 manufacturing job losses were recorded in computers and peripheral equipment (—11,900) and electronic components (—5,500).
• The communications services shed 54,000 jobs from their payrolls.
• US high-tech exports rose 12 percent to $191 billion in 2004, from $171 billion in 2003.
• High-tech exports represented 23 percent of all US exports in 2004.
• US high-tech venture capital investments totaled $11.8 billion in 2004, up 10 percent from $10.7 billion in 2003.
