Florida's Tech Industry Adds 5,700 Jobs

Florida Is the 4th Largest and 8th Fastest Growing Cyberstate by Tech Employment

ORLANDO, Fla., April 2, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AeA, the nation's largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, today released its 11th annual Cyberstates report detailing national and state trends in high-tech employment, wages, and other key economic factors. The report, Cyberstates 2008: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry, covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Florida's high-tech industry added 5,700 net jobs to its economy, giving Florida 282,100 tech industry workers in 2006, the most current state data available. This places Florida as the 4th largest cyberstate by tech industry employment and the 8th fastest growing. These jobs also are high paying, with the average tech worker earning $64,400 in 2006 or 70 percent more than the state's average private sector wage.

Florida's high-tech job growth is highly concentrated in two sectors, engineering services, which added 4,600 jobs, and computer systems design and related services, which added 2,400 net jobs. The tech manufacturing and communications services sectors both experienced job losses, 300 and 2,000, respectively.

"Florida's high-tech industry continues to ride the crest of a wave," said Maryann Fiala, Executive Director, AeA Florida Council. "We have now seen three straight years of rapid job growth. And as AeA's Florida Cybercities report showed last September, this growth is spread throughout the state. This benefits the entire state economy. The average tech industry wage in Florida pays 70 percent more than the average wage of Florida's private sector."

"However, it must be noted that our job growth could have been much more robust," continued Fiala. "Many tech companies have far more open positions than they are able to fill. Unfortunately, many of these companies are having to grow their business outside of Florida - adding workers in Boston, California, Texas, or even abroad. We have often joked that Florida is one of the largest technology states in the country, yet hardly anyone knows it - especially Floridians."

"We at AeA have been trying to change that perception through our 'Pass It On' public awareness program," continued Fiala. "We are focused on getting the word out - passing it on - that Florida's tech industry is strong and growing fast, but that growth is not guaranteed and could easily be lost if local leaders do not focus on improving our K-12 education system and if leaders in Tallahassee do not invest in improving the research capabilities of our major universities and work to attract more venture capital investment to the Sunshine State."

Nationally, Cyberstates 2008 shows that the high-tech industry added jobs for the third consecutive year. Tech industry employment totaled 5.9 million, after adding 91,400 jobs in 2007. This is on top of job gains of 139,000 in 2006 and 87,400 in 2005.

This 11th edition of Cyberstates provides a comprehensive review of the high-tech industry nationally and state-by-state in terms of high-tech employment, wages, payroll, and establishments. Cyberstates also offers data on venture capital investments and R&D expenditures.

Two other major AeA cyber reports are forthcoming that analyze the U.S. high-tech industry: Cybercities 2008: An Overview of the High-Technology Industry in the Nation's Top 60 Cities, and Trade in the Cyberstates 2008: A State-by-State Overview of High-Tech International Trade.

AeA members can purchase Cyberstates 2008 for $125; non-members for $250. Visit http://www.aeanet.org/cyberstates to download the report, or call 408.987.4200.

What Does High Tech Mean for Florida?

-- 282,100 high-tech workers in 2006 (4th ranked cyberstate)
-- 5,700 jobs added between 2005 and 2006, ranked 8th nationwide

-- High-tech firms employed 41 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2006, ranked 31st nationwide

-- High-tech workers earned an average wage of $64,400 (30th ranked), or 70 percent more than Florida's average private sector wage

-- A high-tech payroll of $18.2 billion in 2006, ranked 7th nationwide
-- 22,100 high-tech establishments in 2006, ranked 3rd nationwide

-- Venture capital investments of $608 million in 2007, up 91 percent from $319 million in 2006, ranked 9th nationwide

-- R&D expenditures of $5.7 billion in 2004, ranked 16th nationwide

Florida's National Industry Sector Rankings:

-- 3rd in telecommunications services employment with 63,400 jobs
-- 3rd in engineering services employment with 59,200 jobs
-- 3rd in Internet services employment with 25,100 jobs
Source: Cyberstates 2008

Data are for 2006 unless otherwise noted.

2006 state data are the most current available for employment, wages, payroll, establishments, and industry sector jobs.

Published by AeA, Advancing the Business of Technology (http://www.aeanet.org/)

About AeA

AeA, the nation's largest technology trade association, representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members' top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit http://www.aeanet.org/.

Contact: Maryann Fiala, 407.882.2425, Maryann_Fiala@aeanet.org

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: AeA

CONTACT: Maryann Fiala of AeA, +1-407-882-2425,
Maryann_Fiala@aeanet.org

Web Site: http://www.aeanet.org/

2008-04-01 23:08:51 0325633 PRNEWSWIRE