U.S. Added 91,400 High-Tech Jobs Last YearU.S. Added 91,400 High-Tech Jobs Last Year

High-tech employment rose in the United States last year, but the growth was slower than in 2006, according to a report released this week.

U.S. high-tech employment totaled 5.9 million in 2007, up 1.6% or 91,400 jobs from 2006. That's down from the 139,000 jobs that were added added in 2006, according to a report from AeA called "Cyberstates 2008: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry". AeA is the official name for the trade group formerly known as the American Electronics Association.

The 148-page report released this week includes national data on high-tech employment and venture capital investments from last year. The 11th annual report also includes state data on wages, and spending on research and development.

Unemployment rates remained less than 2% in many high-tech occupations last year, according to the report.

Software services added 82,600 jobs, while engineering and technology services added 45,800 jobs, according to AeA. Both rose for the fourth consecutive year.

The report found that 48 states added tech jobs between 2005 and 2006. California, Florida, New York, Texas, and Virginia led the United States in high tech employment in 2006.

California paid tech workers the highest wages ($101,200 on average in 2006), followed by Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington, and Colorado.

The most recent state figures from 2006 shows that Virginia ranked first for the highest concentration of high-tech workers, with 91 high-tech workers per 1,000 private sector workers. High-tech venture capital in the United States reached $16.9 billion last year, up by 6%.

However, the high-tech manufacturing industry lost 29,800 and communications services lost 7,200 jobs last year, according to the report. And figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor on Friday showed that service sector unemployment reached 5.9%, above the national unemployment rate of 5.1% in March. Unemployment in the professional and business services reached 5.2%, while the unemployment rate among information workers was a bit lower at 4.8%. Breakdowns for the high-tech sector were not immediately available Friday.

The entire tech industry report is available to AeA members for $125. For non-members, the cost is $250.