LV not on list of top tech cities

Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2000 | 10:15 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

San Jose may be the No. 1 provider of jobs in the high-tech sector, as new study finds, but several other U.S. cities are rapidly catching up.

San Jose employs 252,900 people in industries ranging from computer and office equipment to semiconductor manufacturing, according to a study by the Nasdaq Stock Market and the American Electronics Association, a trade group.

Boston was a close second with 234,800 high-tech jobs, followed by Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Dallas. Los Angeles, with 160,500 high-tech jobs, was ranked sixth in the 1998 figures.

Employees in all areas of employment at high-tech companies were counted in the study, which was derived from data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Census Bureau.

The "Cybercities" study named San Francisco the second-fastest growing city in high-tech employment, with 65 percent growth over a five-year period, trailing only Colorado Springs' 77 percent growth.

Las Vegas didn't have enough people working in high-tech jobs to be considered in the report.

John Hatch, a spokesman for AeA, said if a city's level of employment is below 15,000 it wouldn't be among the top 60 metropolitan areas studied.

"There's a lot of competition to attract companies and employees," Hatch said of the battle to draw high-tech companies to a city. "It's a matter of who has the best resources."

Hatch said education continues to head the list of things companies look for when looking for a place to locate.

"Education is the key," Hatch said. "Having a good university and public school system is vital." He said transportation infrastructure and a knowledgeable work force also is important.

The average high-tech annual salary in San Jose was $85,100, putting it second behind Seattle, where workers averaged $129,300. San Francisco high-tech wages were fourth in the nation, at an average of $78,400. In some areas in the country, high-tech wages were as much as 220 percent higher than average private sector wages.

Compared to the East Coast, university research and development ventures in Silicon Valley were falling behind.

This is the first year of the study, which aims to provide a snapshot of the high-tech industry in 60 metropolitan areas.

San Jose residents were the most wired in the nation, with a computer in 77 percent of households. Miami ranked last with a computer in 41 percent of households.