Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management

    Colorados Tech Industry Loses Some Luster

    By
    Deb Perelman
    -
    April 27, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Colorado, once considered among the most promising hubs for technology companies, took a big employment and market share hit in recent years, finds the Cyberstates 2007 report, released on April 24.

      After holding first place in tech concentration for nine years, Colorado fell to third place, according to the report by AeA, a Washington D.C., high-tech industry trade association. Colorado was surpassed by Virginia, where 8.9 percent of the work force is in the tech industry compared to 8.6 percent in Colorado.

      Though third place out of 52 (the report included the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico along with the 50 states) is not too shabby, Colorados loss of 1,700 tech jobs in 2005—the most recent year for which data was available—was the second most of any state, surpassed by only Kansas, which lost 2,000.

      Most of the technology job losses in Colorado were concentrated in computer and related manufacturing and general technology manufacturing, found the report.

      Manufacturing is a central part of Colorados economic portfolio, and the manufacturing technology sector is understood to be still struggling to regain what was lost in the 2000 to 2004 economic downturn. In addition, Colorados venture capital investments were down 5 percent in 2006 to $622 million.

      “One of the big things thats been happening and continues to happen here is a lot of mergers and acquisition activity. A number of companies have gotten to a nice size, been purchased and moved out of state. For example, Maxtor was purchased by Seagate last year, they had duplicated positions, and downsized a lot,” Jessica Wright, executive director, AeA Mountain States Council, told eWEEK.

      “The other thing is that a number of our manufacturers have left because of the data storage industry consolidations. StorageTek was purchased by Sun Microsystems a couple years ago and got rid of a lot of positions. A lot of the job losses can be attributed to this acquisition environment we find ourselves in,” Wright said.

      It doesnt look like Colorados high-tech job losses will cease any time soon, with the potential news of more companies moving out of state.

      “A number of manufacturing companies have shifted out of state. Intels chip-making facility in Colorado Springs is on the block, and will probably be moving out of state,” said Wright.

      However, Colorados high-tech industry is not falling out of the spotlight. It gets its third-place status because high-tech firms employed 86 out of every 1,000 private-sector workers in 2005. The average tech worker in the state earned $80,200 annually, or 93 percent more than their average private-sector counterpart. And the states high-tech payroll was $12.7 billion in 2005, ranked 12th nationwide.

      /zimages/5/28571.gifBeyond the valley: 10 blooming U.S. cities for tech. Click here to read more.

      “Colorados tech industry remains a critical component of our states growing economy,” said Wright. “The recent increase in average tech wages demonstrates this sector is strong and contributes significantly to our economy,” said Wright.

      Although the number of manufacturing positions declined in Colorado, the report showed that gains occurred in research and development testing labs (which picked up 2,600 jobs), computer systems design and related services (which added 2,200 jobs) and engineering services (which added 1,500 jobs).

      “Whats really strong for Colorado right now, and will be even if Intel sells, is that theyre increasing their R&D and design work,” Wright said. “Theres a lot of good universities in-state, and they want access to these people. Theyre very high-level jobs. If youre an engineer or in the R&D segment, youre very employable in Colorado.”

      /zimages/5/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms Careers Center for the latest news, analysis and commentary on careers for IT professionals.

      Deb Perelman
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×