Tech sector booms in US

US TECH COMPANIES are growing and paying workers more than any other industry according to a new study.

Conducted by the American Electronics Association (AEA), the Cyberstates study found 51 of the top 60 cities with the most IT added high-tech jobs in 2006. It also found the average technology industry wage was 87 percent higher than the average private sector salary.

The AEA report is based on Bureau of Labour Statistics data from 2006 so is a Nintendo bit out of date. However the AEA thinks that the industry continues to experience robust growth even as much of the rest of the economy slows.

The report said that the tech sector is not laying people off, and is having trouble getting enough people with the right credentials.

It seems that the tech sector is climbing back to 'pre-bubble-bursting' levels of employment and activity. The current growth is being driven by a more stable industry which has become integrated into the broader economy.

The biggest growth in 2006 happened in Seattle where 7,800 positions were added.

New York had the most high-tech employees in 2006 with 316,500, followed by San Jose with 225,300 tech workers and Boston with 191,700.

As you might expect, Silicon Valley had the nation's highest concentration of high-tech workers.

The worst place to be an IT person was Detroit and Fort Lauderdale where more high-tech workers were actually fired than hired. µ

L'Inq
AP