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San Diego's Tech Work Force Ranks 2nd in State

Posted on: Tuesday, 27 June 2006, 21:00 CDT

By Mike Freeman, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Jun. 27--Technology companies remained a potent force in San Diego County's economy despite heavy job losses in recent years, according to a survey that will be released today.

Tech firms employ 95 out of every 1,000 private-sector workers in the county, according to the report from the AeA, formerly known as the American Electronics Association.

That ranks San Diego second to Silicon Valley for the highest concentration of tech workers in the local labor force. It's a distant second, however, as tech firms in Silicon Valley account for 284 out of every 1,000 jobs there.

The AeA's annual California Cybercities report tracks tech employment, payroll, wages and a host of other statistics for 17 California metropolitan areas it considers cybercities. The information is gleaned from the U.S.

Department of Labor Statistics, which is considered the most accurate source available.

However, it's also slightly stale, dating to 2004. Since then, Sony Electronics has stopped making television picture tubes in Rancho Bernardo, cutting 400 jobs. Intel has moved its 170-employee communications chip division from Sabre Springs to Portland, Ore. And wireless handset maker Kyocera eliminated roughly 900 positions in San Diego.

Even so, the study does highlight the makeup of San Diego's tech economy and how the region compares with other parts of California.

San Diego led the state in non-biotech technology research jobs at 25,200 workers -- likely because of development work done by wireless giant Qualcomm and other telecommunications firms.

The county also took the top spot in consumer electronics manufacturing, with 3,300 workers.

Sony, which assembles Vaio computers in Rancho Bernardo, likely helped bolster San Diego's consumer electronics manufacturing numbers. But several smaller firms also make consumer electronics gear as third-party manufacturers for other companies, said Kevin Carroll, head of the local AeA chapter.

The number of tech companies locally also grew 2 percent in 2004 to nearly 4,300. Statewide, the number of tech firms still in business fell 3.9 percent compared with the previous year.

"I think we have more diversity," Carroll said. "We have consumer electronics, software, semiconductors. When you factor all that in, we're not as prone to some of the peaks and valleys."

Overall, tech companies employed 99,945 workers in San Diego County in 2004, down 1,800 jobs from 2003 and significantly below the 108,520 tech workers locally in 2001.

Statewide, California's tech employment was 904,900, off 10,600 workers from the year before.

The job losses in 2004 weren't nearly as severe statewide as they were the two previous years, when the state's tech companies shed 202,000 positions.

"For California, the bleeding stopped and the job losses slowed in 2004," said Matthew Kazmierczak, vice president of research and industry analysis for the AeA in Washington.

Based on initial reports, Kazmierczak thinks the tech job market continued to improve in 2005.

"We'd expect to see some moderate job growth, with the key word being moderate, based on some of the national trends we've seen," Kazmierczak said.

San Diego tech workers posted an average wage of $85,200 in 2004 -- well above the average of $41,600 for county workers overall.

Local tech workers enjoyed a nice pay increase in 2004, with average wages increasing 7.9 percent. San Diego ranked fourth overall for average tech wage and was the only Southern California county to crack the top five.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

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