Colorado Boasts 2nd Highest Concentration of Tech Employees; State's Techies Earn Average of $55,000 Per Year

Business Wire, June 2, 1999

LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 2, 1999--

Colorado has 80 high-tech workers per 1,000 private sector workers, second only to New Hampshire, according to Cyberstates 3.0: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry, a new analytical report on the high-tech industry released today by the American Electronics Association (AEA).

The study found that Colorado employed 131,900 high-tech workers in 1997, making it the 12th largest cyberstate by employment.

"The increased concentration of high-tech employees in Colorado is astonishing," said Dan Lankford, CEO of BOLDER Technologies in Golden and Chairman of AEA's Mountain States Council. "Colorado's job base has increased at a rapid pace and the high-tech community had a major role in shaping the state's current economic base, both domestically and internationally. The challenge, going forward, is to keep Colorado competitive. To sustain the high-tech growth curve will involve the efforts of industry, state administrative and legislative bodies, and the education community."

AEA's Cyberstates 3.0 report found that Colorado added more than 9,000 new high-tech jobs between 1996 and 1997 alone, the nation's sixth ranked state in high-tech job creation.

Colorado's high-tech wages are also among the highest in the nation. The average high-tech wage paid in Colorado was $54,500, the tenth highest in the country, and 83 percent more than the state's average private sector wage.

Cyberstates 3.0 also examines 1998 electronics merchandise exports from each state. The study found that high-tech exports from Colorado jumped by more than $200 million between 1997 and 1998, totaling $4.1 billion.

Nationally, Cyberstates 3.0 shows that the high-tech industry has added one million new jobs since 1993. High-tech industry employment reached a projected 4.8 million workers in 1998.

Cyberstates 3.0 is the third and most comprehensive edition of AEA's Cyberstates report series. The study includes chapters on national employment and wages in the technology industry. It also measures the economic importance of high tech in each state, using the most recent U.S. government data on jobs, payroll, wages, and exports. The report includes one-page overviews for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, detailing these statistics along with growth and leading industry segments.

AEA members can purchase Cyberstates 3.0 for $95; non-members for $190. Call AEA at 800/284-4232 or 408/987-4200, or visit our website at http://www.aeanet.org. -0-

     What Does High Tech Mean for Colorado?

--   131,854 high-tech workers (12th ranked cyberstate), adding 9,300
     jobs between 1996 and 1997

--   Colorado is the nation's 4th fastest growing cyberstate between
     1990 and 1997, adding nearly 40,000 high-tech jobs, jumping from
     92,300 to 131,900

--   Colorado has the 2nd highest high-tech employment concentration
     in the nation with 80 high-tech workers per 1,000 private sector
     workers. Only New Harly
     $3,200, between 1996 and 1997, adjusted for inflation

--   A high-tech payroll of $7.2 billion

--   High-tech exports totaled $4.1 billion in 1998, an increase of
     $205 million from 1997

--   Colorado's high-tech exports more than doubled between 1990 and
     1998, from $2.0 billion to $4.1 billion

--   High-tech exports comprise 71% of all exports from Colorado, the
     3rd highest concentration nationally

     Colorado's national industry segment rankings:

--   5th in photonics manufacturing employment (3,300 jobs)

--   7th in computers and office equipment manufacturing employment
     (17,900 jobs)

--   8th in software services employment (26,400 jobs)

Editors Note: Cyberstates 3.0 data are for 1997 unless otherwise noted. Published by the American Electronics Association (www.aeanet.org)