Miami-Fort Lauderdale’s Tech Industry Employs 72,900
Tech Industry Wages Total $66,600 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale

Orlando, FL (June 24, 2008) – AeA, the nation’s largest technology trade association representing all segments of the high-tech industry, today released Cybercities 2008: An Overview of the High-Technology Industry in the Nation's Top 60 Cities. This detailed report tracks trends in high-tech employment, wages, establishments, payroll, employment concentration, and wage differential at the metropolitan level.

Miami-Fort Lauderdale’s high-tech industry employed 72,900 in 2006, according to the most current metropolitan data available. These jobs were high paying, with the average tech worker in Miami-Fort Lauderdale earning $66,600 in 2006 or 61 percent more than the average private sector wage of $41,300.

Telecommunications services was the leading tech sector in Miami-Fort Lauderdale with 17,400 jobs in 2006, ranking 10th nationwide. This was followed by engineering services with 15,300 jobs in 2006, representing an increase of 900 from the previous year.

“Miami-Fort Lauderdale’s high-tech industry employs nearly four percent of the area’s private sector workforce,” said Maryann Fiala, Executive Director of the AeA’s Florida Council. “These are exactly the type of jobs we should be working to retain and attract but between 2001 and 2006, over 11,000 high tech jobs were lost. In order to reverse this downward trend, we must insist that the region and the state become more competitive by increasing the skills of our workforce by focusing on math and science education both at the K-12 level and in our universities. Investing in education, funding Research and Development at our universities, retaining existing tech companies, and ensuring access to capital are the only ways to ensure that South Florida succeeds in today’s global economy. Preparing our children and our state for an economy that is driven by technology should be the first priority of our legislators in Tallahassee.”

Cybercities 2008 shows that the top five cybercities by high-tech employment in 2006 were the New York Metro Area, Washington, DC, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Boston, and Dallas-Fort Worth. The nation’s highest tech industry concentration was in San Jose/Silicon Valley, where more than one in four private sector workers were employed by the tech industry. Seattle saw the largest tech industry employment growth, adding 7,800 jobs in 2006.

Later this summer, AeA will release Trade in the Cyberstates 2008: A State-by-State Overview of High-Tech International Trade. That report will look at the most recent data on high-tech exports from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

AeA members can purchase Cybercities 2008 for $125; non-members for $250.  Visit www.aeanet.org/cybercities to download the report, or call 408.987.4200. 

What Does High Tech Mean for Miami-Fort Lauderdale?

• 72,900 high-tech workers in 2006 (21st ranked cybercity)
   

• 2,700 jobs lost between 2005 and 2006 (59th ranked cybercity)
   

• High-tech firms employed 36 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2006 (55th ranked cybercity)
   

• High-tech workers earned an average wage of $66,600 (46th ranked), or 61 percent more than Miami-Fort Lauderdale’s average private sector wage.
   

• A high-tech payroll of $4.9 billion in 2006 (23rd ranked cybercity)
   

• 6,600 high-tech establishments in 2006 (9th ranked cybercity)

Miami-Fort Lauderdale’s National Industry Sector Rankings:

• 10th in telecommunications services employment with 17,400 jobs
   

• 13th in engineering services employment with 15,300 jobs
   

• 20th in computer systems design and related services employment with 15,100 jobs

Notes:

Miami-Fort Lauderdale = Florida Counties: Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach.

Data are for 2006 unless otherwise noted.

2006 data are the most current available for employment, wages, payroll, establishments, and industry sector jobs.

Source: Cybercities 2008

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

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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 http://www.aeanet.org.   

This page was last updated on 06/20/08.            
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