Ohio halts slide in high-tech jobs
BYLINE: Mark Reiter, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio
Apr. 25--Ohio reversed a six-year decline in high-technology jobs and Michigan continued its slump, a new report shows. The nation, though, added 146,600 such jobs.
"We see a very positive trend in the country, and in Ohio," said Ed Longanecker, executive director of the nonprofit AeA, formerly the American Electronics Association, the country's largest technology trade association.
"After several years of job losses in the high-tech industry, Ohio is finally turning and adding jobs."
The state, according to the group's study of high-tech occupations monitored by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, had 1,200 more such jobs in 2005 than in the year before. But between 2000 and 2005, it had a net loss of 34,100 such jobs.
It had 152,407 such jobs, which paid on average $60,900 a year, compared with $36,800 for an average private-sector job, according to the study released yesterday.
In Michigan, the drop in such jobs was 400 in 2005 and 33,000 between 2000 and 2005, the study said. The state had 177,613 such jobs, which paid on average $73,200, compared with $41,150 for an average private-sector wage.
The study said that the nation as a whole had 5.6 million high-tech jobs in 2005 and about 5.8 million in 2006. Last year produced the second annual increase.
The group's tech worker classification includes engineers, computer programmers, technology executives, scientists, academics, and others in the tech industry.
Michigan was one of 12 states to have a decline in those jobs, the report said. Still, it ranked 10th among the states.
Ohio ranked 15th.
Steven Weathers, president of Toledo's Regional Growth Partnership, said education of students for high-tech professions is needed. "When you talk to [chief executive officers of corporations], they agree that there has to be a tightening down on the academics."
At the University of Toledo, a partnership of area colleges and university has been proposed to cultivate a science and technology corridor to spur economic development.
Peter Kay, director of the project, said the education and skill of the workforce are among the most important factors in businesses deciding whether to locate or remain in a community. "Our workforce must be able to respond well to the new technology needs."
The states with the highest gains in tech jobs were California (14,400), Florida (10,900) Virginia (7,700), and North Carolina (7,600).
With an annual wage of $95,300, tech workers in California were the highest paid in the country. "We are seeing a positive trend on the national level," said Mr. Longanecker.
Although the report was optimistic, he said, deficiencies in math and science skills among school children and technology limitations among the workforce are making the United States vulnerable to losing jobs in the global marketplace.
"We are not producing enough engineering and computer science students," he said. "There is a fear that innovation and job creation will happen abroad."
Also, unemployment rates for computer scientists and electrical engineers are at historical lows, and a shortage could force companies to expand outside the United States, he said.
Contact Mark Reiter at:
or 419-724-6096.
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