AeA and Intel Give Capitol Hill Briefing on the
State of the High-Tech Industry
Continued High-Tech Job Growth Depends In Large Part on Congressional Action

Washington, DC (May 9, 2008) – AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, and Intel Corporation, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, today briefed over 50 Congressional staff, industry executives, and reporters on the findings of AeA’s recently released Cyberstates 2008 report. The report details national and state trends in high-tech employment, wages, and other key economic factors for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Co-sponsoring the briefing were Intel, Agilent Technologies, and Research in Motion, maker of the BlackberryTM.

"We are pleased to report to Congressional staff that the technology industry added jobs nationally and across nearly every state,” said Christopher Hansen, President and CEO, AeA. “But we also found that national tech growth slowed in 2007, making the overall story good but not great. Tech jobs make critical contributions to the U.S. economy in terms of innovation. They pay extremely well – the average tech industry wage is 87 percent higher than the average private sector wage. While these are the types of jobs every state wants to attract, the labor market remains tight, with unemployment rates below two percent across many tech occupations."

“The Cyberstates report shows definitively that while the U.S. high-tech industry continues to add jobs, this growth would be much stronger if policymakers took action to address American competitiveness issues,” said Doug Comer, Director Legal and Regulatory Affairs, Intel Corporation. “Congress needs to fund initiatives to enhance math and science education at the K-12 level and increase the R&D budgets of the major federal research agencies. These initiatives were authorized in the 2007 America Competes Act, but were never fully funded. Policymakers also need to increase the cap on H-1B visas, which allow U.S. companies to hire highly skilled foreign nationals graduating from U.S. universities. They need to renew and make permanent the R&D tax credit to encourage U.S. companies to spawn innovation on American shores. Lastly, they need to promote free trade agreements that open foreign markets to U.S. technology exports.”

Cyberstates 2008 is available for purchase at: www.aeanet.org/cyberstates.

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About AeA
AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, is dedicated solely to helping our members’ top line and bottom line. We do this in partnership with our small, medium, and large member companies by lobbying governments at the state, federal, and international levels, providing access to capital and business opportunities, and offering select business services and networking programs. For more information, please visit www.aeanet.org.

This page was last updated on 05/09/08.