San Jose tops for IT jobs, Seattle for wages

San Jose, California, sits atop the list of US cities with the most high-tech employees, while Seattle's software makers seem to be raking in the most dough, according to a new study released this week.

          San Jose, California, sits atop the list of US cities with the most high-tech employees, while Seattle's software makers seem to be raking in the most dough, according to a new study released this week.

          The study, "Cybercities: A City By City Overview of the High Technology Industry," developed by the AeA, the former American Electronics Association, and the Nasdaq Stock Market found that San Jose has 252,900 high-tech workers employed by companies that develop computers, semiconductors and industrial electronics. Boston came in second with 234,800 workers, followed by Chicago with 180,400, Washington, DC with 177,700 and Dallas, 176,600.

          The high-tech industry has added 1.1 million new jobs in the US since 1993 or 8% of the 13.8 million jobs created by the private sector nationally. The study gleaned most of its facts from 1998 federal census data and from US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, says AeA spokeswoman Michaela Platzer.

          The cities with the highest high-tech employment growth during the past five years were Colorado Springs, Colorado, 77%; San Francisco, 65%; Houston, 64%; Denver, 63%, and Sacramento, California, 57%.

          Colorado Springs' rapid growth rate equates to 11,000 jobs, Platzer says. In contrast, San Jose had a growth rate of 36.2% and saw 67,200 new jobs, while Boston had a 10.2% growth rate and generated 22,000 jobs.

          Seattle, meanwhile, saw its average wage level in 1998 hit $US129,300, largely due to the healthy software industry there. The wage was 50% higher than the high-tech wage of $US85,100 paid in San Jose. The Seattle high-tech average wage was some 200% higher than the average wage in the private sector. Other high-tech wage levels included Middlesex, New Jersey, $US78,800, San Francisco, $US78,400 and Austin, Texas, $76,300.

          Other key facts from the study include:

          • Boston came in first for most high-tech businesses with 7348, followed by Washington DC with 7282, and Chicago at 7114.
          • Washington DC led in software services employment with 70,400 workers, Boston ranked second at 48,100 and San Jose came in third with 43,300.
          • San Jose led in semiconductor employment with 43,451 workers, followed by Phoenix, Dallas, Portland and Austin.
          • New York took the top spot in communication services with 53,198 workers, followed by Atlanta, Dallas, Chicago and Washington DC.
          • Communication equipment manufacturing found Chicago in the top spot with 33,161 workers, followed by Dallas; Boston; Raleigh, North Carolina, and San Jose.
          • San Francisco topped venture capital investments at $US9.3 billion in 1999, followed by San Jose, New York, Boston and Oakland, California.
          • Seven states have three or more "cybercities" -- California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Texas.

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