EDITORIAL IDAHO'S TECH AGENCY SHOULD DOUBLE-CHECK ITS MATH

As the designated liaison between industry and state government, the Office of Science and Technology should have a pulse on Idaho's tech sector.

So it's more than just embarrassing when this office cannot calculate how much a high-tech job pays.

Nine days ago, the office released a shocking stat: From 2005 to 2006, tech-sector pay had dropped by more than 20 percent.

Trouble is, the office made a basic math error, comparing nine months of 2006 wage figures with 12 months of 2005 numbers, said Bob Fick, a spokesman for the Department of Commerce and Labor, Science and Technology's parent agency. By week's end, Commerce and Labor calculated apples against apples and tallied an 11 percent wage increase.

"It was a big mistake," office executive director Karl Tueller said, with remarkable understatement.

Consider, first, the audience. Science and Technology trotted out its bad numbers in front of its advisory council -- which includes tech-sector executives and three university presidents, among other high-powered members -- and Gov. Butch Otter. When presenting to the boss, it's always wise to double-check the arithmetic.

Now, consider the implications of presenting basic facts wrong, even for a couple of days. High-tech, accounting for more than 55,000 jobs, drives the state's economy. Its impact is even more pronounced in the Treasure Valley. News of declining wages -- particularly from what should be an authoritative source -- can affect stock prices, investment decisions and consumer confidence.

The revised, stronger salary numbers left Otter "reassured but not satisfied" about the health of the tech sector, spokesman Mark Warbis said. Tueller's mea culpa -- which was, in his defense, prompt and upfront -- leaves us somewhat reassured, but less than satisfied.