Contact:

State’s New Anti-Business Laws Exacerbate Problem

Santa Clara, CA, November 19, 2003—California’s high-technology industry lost 123,000 jobs between 2001 and 2002, according to Cyberstates 2003: A State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry, a new analytical report released today by AeA. Cyberstates 2003 shows that California’s tech industry dropped by 11 percent in 2002 to 995,000 workers.

Cyberstates 2003 also examines tech exports and venture capital investments. California exported $44 billion worth of high-tech goods in 2002, compared to $56 billion in 2001, a 21 percent drop. Similarly, venture capital investments in California dropped by 43 percent, falling from $16 billion in 2001 to $9 billion in 2002.

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.

Cyberstates 2003 is the seventh edition of AeA’s Cyberstates reports. The study includes seven chapters detailing national and state trends in employment, wages, and exports. Venture capital investments and research and development (R&D) expenditures are also examined. The report includes state rankings for each indicator. Cyberstates 2003 is based on the most current U.S. government data available.

What Does High Tech Mean for California?

• 994,729 high-tech workers (1^st ranked cyberstate)

• 123,000 jobs lost between 2001 and 2002

• High-tech firms employ 80 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2002, ranked 6^th nationwide

• High-tech workers earned an average wage of $81,229 (2^nd ranked), or 98% more than the average private sector wage

• A high-tech payroll of $91 billion in 2001, ranked 1^st nationwide

• 44,035 high-tech establishments in 2001, ranked 1^st nationwide

• High-tech exports totaled $44 billion in 2002, ranked 1^st nationwide, down from $56 billion in 2001

• High-tech exports represented 48% of California’s exports

• Venture capital investments of $9 billion, down 43% from $16 billion in 2001

• R&D expenditures of $55 billion in 2000, ranked 1^st nationwide

California’s National Industry Segment Rankings:

• California leads the nation in 15 of 16 high-tech industry segments

• 1^st in computer systems design and related services employment with 175,300 jobs

• 1^st in telecommunications services employment with 134,100 jobs

• 1^st in R&D and testing labs employment with 104,000 jobs

• 1^st in engineering services employment with 96,800 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.