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Florida Experiencing Growth In Tech Jobs

A recent study found that Florida is the 4th Largest and 8th Fastest Growing Cyberstate. The Sunshine State added 5,700 tech jobs with 282,100 employees in the tech sector.

“Florida’s high-tech industry continues to ride the crest of a wave,” said Maryann Fiala, Executive Director, AeA Florida Council. “We have now seen three straight years of rapid job growth. And as AeA’s Florida Cybercities report showed last September, this growth is spread throughout the state. This benefits the entire state economy. The average tech industry wage in Florida pays 70 percent more than the average wage of Florida’s private sector.”

“However, it must be noted that our job growth could have been much more robust,” continued Fiala. “Many tech companies have far more open positions than they are able to fill. Unfortunately, many of these companies are having to grow their business outside of Florida - adding workers in Boston, California, Texas, or even abroad. We have often joked that Florida is one of the largest technology states in the country, yet hardly anyone knows it - especially Floridians.”

What do these high tech jobs mean for Floridians?

• 282,100 high-tech workers in 2006 (4th ranked cyberstate)
• 5,700 jobs added between 2005 and 2006, ranked 8th nationwide
• High-tech firms employed 41 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2006, ranked 31st nationwide
• High-tech workers earned an average wage of $64,400 (30th ranked), or 70 percent more than Florida’s average private sector wage
• A high-tech payroll of $18.2 billion in 2006, ranked 7th nationwide
• 22,100 high-tech establishments in 2006, ranked 3rd nationwide
• Venture capital investments of $608 million in 2007, up 91 percent from $319 million in 2006, ranked 9th nationwide.
• R&D expenditures of $5.7 billion in 2004, ranked 16th nationwide

Florida looks like a land of opportunity for those skilled in technology. To find out more about this study, please visit Aeanet.org.