Report: High-tech work force growing

All 50 states added high-technology jobs recently as the national industry

work force grew to 5 million in 1999, according to a report by the American

Electronics Association and Nasdaq Stock Market.

The report, "Cyberstates 4.0: A State-By-State Overview of the High Technology

Industry," is based on U.S. Bureau of Census information and assessed the

industry across the nation by employment, wages and exports.

California, Texas, Virginia, Colorado and Georgia led the nation in high-tech

job creation, according to the report. California has the most high-tech

jobs with 835,000 and also created 193,000 new jobs in the field from 1993

to 1998. Texas, with 411,000 industry workers was second overall, and created

132,000 workers in those five years.

"What this indicates is that the high-technology industry is not just in

one are or region," said Marc Brailov, AEA's public communication director.

"It's coast-to-coast and has become a true national industry."

Following California and Texas with the highest numbers of workers in the

industry is New York (329,000), Illinois (218,000) and Massachusetts (217,000).

Colorado has the highest concentration of high-tech workers, with 84 per

1,000 workers.

The report also found:

* The average wage for the industry was $26,000 more than the average private

sector wage, $32,000. The states with the highest wages are Washington ($106,000),

New Jersey ($69,000), California ($67,000), Virginia ($66,000), and Connecticut

($65,000).

* U.S. high-tech exports totaled $181 billion in 1999, up from $165 billion

in 1998. Leading the nation in that category are California ($53 billion),

Texas ($25 billion), Massachusetts ($9 billion), Florida ($8 billion), and

New York ($7.6 billion).