Study: 8.6% growth rate in the sector from 2001 to 2006 is 4th fastest in U.S.

June 25, 2008

By Erika D. Smith
erika.smith@indystar.com

From 2001 to 2006, Central Indiana added high-tech jobs faster than any other metro area in the Midwest, according to a new study from the national tech trade group AeA.

That doesn’t mean Indianapolis is a tech mecca. It’s no San Jose, Boston or even Chicago.

But it does mean local tech companies are making strides like never before, said Jim Jay, president and CEO of the statewide tech advocacy group Techpoint.

“The data is proving what we’re seeing in the sector,” he said.

In its annual “Cybercities” study released Tuesday, AeA said Central Indiana added 2,200 jobs over the five-year period for a sector total of 28,500 jobs. That’s a growth rate of 8.6 percent — the fourth fastest in the nation.

The only other Midwestern city to report such job growth in the time period was St. Louis, which added 900 tech jobs.

In Central Indiana, the hottest jobs were in computer systems design, which had 7,200 employees in 2006, and telecommunications services, which had 6,200 employees that year.

Hot or not, though, tech jobs paid — and still pay — well.

The average local techie earned $63,900 in 2006, or 54 percent more than the average private sector employee, according to AeA.

“That’s really encouraging,” Jay said. “This is a trend that we’re continuing to see today in 2008.”

He pointed to recent hiring announcements by e-mail marketing companies ExactTarget and Aprimo, and software developers ANGEL Learning and Vontoo.

“We’ve had some pretty steady hiring over the last 12 months or so,” Jay said. “I think there are certainly pockets throughout the state where this is very true.”

In April, AeA released its annual Cyberstates study, which found that Indiana’s tech sector has fared better than many other states’ when it comes to jobs, wages and venture-capital investment.

Companies across the state added 1,700 net jobs in 2006, maintaining Indiana’s ranking as the 23rd-largest “cyberstate,” with 70,200 high-tech employees and a payroll of $4 billion.

The hottest jobs were in engineering services and computer systems design.

Again, Indiana — like Indianapolis — is no tech mecca, though.

In the Cyberstates study, California led the nation, followed by Texas and Virginia.

And in Tuesday’s Cybercities study, New York; Washington, D.C.; San Jose/Silicon Valley, Calif.; Boston; and Dallas-Fort Worth led the nation in terms of tech employment.

The highest concentration of tech businesses was in San Jose, where more than one in four private sector employees were techies in 2006. Seattle, AeA said, had the nation’s largest jump in employment, adding 7,800 jobs in 2006.

Nine other Midwestern cities also beat Indianapolis on wages and number of tech employees.

Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis-St. Paul topped the AeA rankings. Indianapolis came in 10th.

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