Washington, DC, November 19, 2003—The District of Columbia’s high-technology industry added 2,200 tech 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. The District of Columbia is one of only three cyberstates that added tech jobs between 2001 and 2002.

Cyberstates 2003 shows that the District of Columbia’s tech industry increased by 7 percent in 2002, with employment growing from 30,700 in 2001 to nearly 33,000 in 2002.

"We were very pleased to see that the District of Columbia added tech jobs last year," said Greg Poersch, Executive Director, AeA Potomac Council. "With the enormous federal information technology business here, the District of Columbia has numerous opportunities for additional job creation."

Cyberstates 2003 also examines venture capital investments. The latest data reveal that venture capital investments in the District of Columbia dropped by 35 percent, falling from $200 million in 2001 to more than $131 million 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-by-state trends in employment, wages, exports, venture capital investments and research and development (R&D) expenditures. Cyberstates 2003 is based on the most current U.S. government data available.

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

What Does High Tech Mean for the District of Columbia?

• 32,948 high-tech workers (37^th ranked cyberstate)

• Gained 2,200 jobs between 2001 and 2002 (only 1 of 3 states to add tech jobs)

• High-tech firms employ 79 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2002, ranked 7^th nationwide

• High-tech workers earned an average wage of $70,151 (7^th ranked), or 33% more than the average private sector wage

• A high-tech payroll of $2.2 billion in 2001, ranked 32^nd nationwide

• 1,800 high-tech establishments in 2001, ranked 37^th nationwide

• High-tech exports totaled $88 million in 2002, ranked 47^th nationwide

• High-tech exports represented 8% of the District of Columbia’s exports

• Venture capital investments of $131 million, down 35% from $200 million in 2001

• R&D expenditures of $2.3 billion in 2000, ranked 24^th nationwide

The District of Columbia’s National Industry Segment Rankings:

• 16^th in R&D and testing labs employment with 10,900 jobs

• 26^th in computer systems design and related services employment with 10,100 jobs

• 30^th Internet services employment with 3,000 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.