The number of employees in Hawai'i's high-technology industry increased by 0.8 percent in 2007 from a year earlier, according to a survey being released today.

The increase lagged behind the average gain nationally, which rose 1.4 percent, said the "Cyberstates 2009" report from TechAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based trade group that advocates for the high-tech industry.

The report has been produced for a dozen years and is an attempt to ascertain the size and scope of the industry both nationally and on a statewide basis.

Locally there have been several efforts to gauge the size of the industry as state legislators wrangle over high-technology tax credits available to investors and researchers.

The study found Hawai'i's high-technology sector remains one of the smallest in the country, ranking 46th among states with 15,019 jobs. The total was 117 more than a year earlier, when the state had 14,902 private-sector workers in the high-technology business.

The report differs from one produced last year for the Hawaii Science and Technology Council and the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, which found technology employed more people and contributed more to the economy.

That report found there were 23,985 private-sector tech workers and another 7,121 tech workers in government and that public and private technology activities accounted for $3 billion, or about 5 percent, of the state's economy.

Proponents of Hawai'i's high-technology investment and research tax credits have cited those numbers as they lobby against any changes to what's commonly referred to as Act 221. Some legislators have called for paring back the investment credit because of state budget problems.

The credits were created to jump-start the high-technology industry through some of the most generous tax breaks offered by any state.

But the program has come under fire because some companies getting the investments didn't seem to fit the high-tech mold and because of its cost in foregone tax revenue.

The incentives, which were created in 1999 and significantly expanded in 2001, cost an estimated $747 million through 2007, according to a recent study by the state.

The report from Tech-America shows technology workers represented about 3 percent of Hawai'i's private-sector workforce in 2007.

The report also found: