Sacramento’s Tech Industry Adds 1,200 Jobs
Sacramento Tech Workers Earn Twice the Average Private Sector Wage

Sacramento, CA (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.

Sacramento’s high-tech industry added 1,200 net jobs for an industry total of 43,700 in 2006, according to the most current metropolitan data available. These jobs are very important to the economy in Sacramento as the average tech wage of $83,500 is 102 percent more then the average private sector wage, the third largest wage differential in the nation, behind only Austin, Texas and San Diego.

The largest tech sector in Sacramento in 2006 was telecommunications services, employing 10,800 workers. The next largest was semiconductor manufacturing with 7,600, an increase of 500 from the previous year. The semiconductor industry in Sacramento was the fifth ranked cybercity in the nation by employment.

“The high-tech industry in Sacramento has been growing for the past three years,” said Joe Balestrini, CEO, PASCO Scientific. “With this growth has come a steady increase in high-paying jobs – AeA’s Cybercities indicating that Sacramento area tech workers earn twice as much as our average private sector employees. We obviously need this industry to continue expanding to keep Sacramento competitive and keep these high paying jobs here. This growth starts at the K-12 level with a greater focus on math and science education. We need parents, teachers, school boards, and our leaders here in the capital to realize how important this education is at a young age in preparing kids for high-tech careers.”

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 Sacramento?

• 43,700 high-tech workers in 2006 (29th ranked cybercity)
   

• 1,200 jobs gained between 2005 and 2006 (30th ranked cybercity)
   

• High-tech firms employed 64 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2006 (28th ranked cybercity)
   

• High-tech workers earned an average wage of $83,500 (15th ranked), or 102 percent more than Sacramento’s average private sector wage
   

• A high-tech payroll of $3.6 billion in 2006 (27th ranked cybercity)
   

• 1,900 high-tech establishments in 2006 (33rd ranked cybercity)

Sacramento’s National Industry Sector Rankings:

• 5th in semiconductor manufacturing employment with 7,600 jobs
   

• 22nd in telecommunication services employment with 10,800 jobs
   

• 34th in computer systems design and related services employment with 7,500 jobs

Notes:

Sacramento = El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo Counties.

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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