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Newport Beach, 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.

"The latest Cyberstates data clearly show that California’s high-tech industry was hit hard last year by the economic slowdown," said Oli Thordarson, President/CEO, Alvaka Networks. "We are hopeful that the resiliency of our industry will prevail and that high-tech employment will begin to grow again in the near future."

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.

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 California?

• 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

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

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

California’s National Industry Segment Rankings:

• 1^st in telecommunications services employment with 134,100 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.
Published by the AeA, Advancing the Business of Technology (www.AeAnet.org)