Friday, February 10, 2012

Study: Tech Jobs Booming In Washington, D.C. Region

June 24, 2008

The high-tech industry in the Washington, D.C. region area added 6,100 jobs for a total of 295,800 workers in 2006, making the capital region the second largest "cybercity" by high-tech employment, behind only the New York metro area, the American Electronics Association said in a new report released Tuesday.

The nation's capital also has the fifth highest concentration of high-tech workers in the nation, according to the most current metropolitan data available. High-tech firms employed 132 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2006. The jobs are high paying too -- the average tech sector worker in D.C. earned $92,700 (67 percent more than the region’s average private sector wage).

Ninety-five percent of Washington's high-tech industry is in the services sectors, AeA noted. The area ranked first in the nation by employment in computer systems design and related services, with 137,100 workers in 2006. It also ranked first in engineering services, with 44,400 jobs, and 2nd in R&D and testing labs, with 40,200 jobs.

"This proliferation of high technology products and services, when combined with business transformation, produces more efficient government operations and a more effective and competitive commercial environment," said Jeffrey Holmes, director of consulting firm PRTM. "This area is unique in that it can meld the superb capabilities of the commercial sector with federal, state and local governments to create public-private partnerships that are able to address many significant issues affecting our region and the nation at large.”

Rounding out the top five cybercities by high-tech employment in 2006 were 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.

Read more about AeA's report here.

(Photo Credit: Library of Congress via Flickr)

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Juliana Gruenwald

Tech Writer

E-Mail: jgruenwald@nationaljournal.com.


Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


Josh Smith

Tech Reporter

E-Mail: joshsmith@nationaljournal.com.


Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.