State gaining jobs rapidly in private-sector technology
Advertiser Staff
Jobs in Hawai'i's private technology sector rose by 4 percent last year, to more than 13,500, according to a recent state report.
The gains came despite uneven growth in the national technology sector, and only 0.7 percent increase in jobs in Hawai'i's private sector, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.
DBEDT Director Seiji Naya called the growth "very encouraging."
The report, which uses a measure developed in 1999, shows jobs in Hawai'i's private technology sector have grown by 28 percent since 1996, compared with a 4 percent increase for all private-sector jobs.
The tech sector accounted for 3 percent of all private-sector jobs last year, but 5.2 percent of wages and salaries, the report said.
It found that telecommunications continues to be the largest segment of private technology in the state, accounting for 47 percent of those jobs. Information technology was second, at 33 percent of jobs, followed by research/ development and education, at 13 percent; and private-sector biotechnology, with 7 percent of private-sector jobs last year.
The report uses federal definitions of technology activity in the economy and detailed industry data collected through the Unemployment Insurance System. The limited data does not include public-sector technology, hospital research, sole proprietorships or independent contractor activity.
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