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Study: Tech Job Growth Strong

Job growth in technology and STEM fields is significantly outperforming other sectors, driving growth in regional economies.

Tech jobs don't just help tech employees; they help the entire economy, according to a recent report (pdf). Released by Engine Advocacy and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, "Technology Works: High-Tech Employment and Wages in the United States" offers several key findings:
 

  • Since 2004, technology sector employment growth has outperformed growth in the private sector by a ratio of three to one. High-tech jobs have also proven to be more resistant to fluctuations in the economy.
  • Between 2002 and 2011, employment growth in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields has outpaced job growth in all other occupations by a ratio of 27 to one.
  • This high demand is expected to continue through 2020 and potentially beyond. Employment growth in high-tech industries is projected to continue to surpass growth in other sectors.
  • Workers in high-tech and STEM jobs are paid between 17 and 27 percent more than employees in other fields.
  • High-tech job growth is a key factor in regional economic development. “The creation of one job in the high-tech sector of a region is associated with the creation of 4.3 additional jobs in the local goods and services economy of the same region in the long run,” the study states.

Evidence of the report's findings can be found around the country. The state of Michigan, Evansville, Ind., and Augusta, Ga., demonstrated the correlation by posting high-tech employment growth and related economic gains.