Contact: Cory Miller, 480.607.0233, cory_miller@aeanet.org

Arizona’s High-Tech Industry Posts Second Worst Job Decline Nationally

Semiconductor Manufacturing Sector Still Third Largest

Scottsdale, AZ, November 19, 2003—Arizona suffered the second sharpest decline in high-tech jobs nationwide. Its technology employment base fell by 15 percent, or by 19,000 jobs, between 2001 and 2002. By 2002, Arizona’s high-tech employment totaled 109,000, according to Cyberstates 2003: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry, a new analytical report released today by AeA.

In fact, Arizona’s most important technology sector, semiconductor manufacturing, lost nearly 7,000 jobs between 2001 and 2002, yet remains the third largest nationally with 28,000 jobs. Semiconductors also help to make Arizona the sixth ranked state by high-tech exports. Arizona exported $6 billion in high-tech goods in 2002, accounting for more than half of all exports from the state.

The decline in venture capital investments has not helped the technology industry. Last year, venture capital investments in Arizona totaled $209 million, down 23 percent from 2001.

"AeA’s Cyberstates report shows that Arizona has been hit particularly hard by the recent technology slowdown, led by semiconductor manufacturing," said Cory Miller, Executive Director, AeA Arizona Council. "The technology industry is still a very important component of the Arizona economy. High tech accounts for 58 of every 1,000 private sector jobs, and Arizona’s semiconductor industry remains the third largest in the nation."

Nationally, Cyberstates 2003 shows that high-tech employment fell by 540,000 jobs, dropping to 6 million in 2002. However, using preliminary data, we estimate that the tech industry will lose 234,000 jobs in 2003.

For the first time, Cyberstates 2003 is based on the newly implemented North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This more current and comprehensive system allows us to capture several sectors, which we could not with the previous system. These include fiber optic cable manufacturers, semiconductor machinery manufacturers, and web search portals. Consequently, the data presented in this report are not comparable in any way to previous editions of Cyberstates.

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

What Does High Tech Mean for Arizona?

• High-tech firms employ 58 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2002, ranked 17^th nationwide

• High-tech workers earned an average wage of $60,312 (19^th ranked), or 82% more than the average private sector wage

• High-tech exports totaled $6.0 billion in 2002, ranked 6^th nationwide

Arizona’s National Industry Segment Rankings:

• 16^th in engineering services employment with 14,500 jobs

Source: Cyberstates 2003

Data are for 2002 unless otherwise noted.
2001 data are the most current for wages, payroll, establishments, and industry segment jobs.

Published by the AeA, Advancing the Business of Technology (www.AeAnet.org)

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AeA is the nation's largest high-tech trade association. Founded in 1943, AeA utilizes an extensive international network of offices to serve its members though advocacy, training, research and business services. www.aeanet.org