A study released today as the 12th installment of AeA's ongoing Competitiveness Series shows the U.S. tech industry added over 140,000 jobs between January and June of 2006, a 2.5 percent rise, for a total of 5.81 million. This is nearly double the 78,900 tech jobs added in the first half of 2005 and the strongest job growth of any six-month period since 2001. Nonetheless, January to June 2006 tech job growth lags that of the U.S. private sector, which rose by 3.5 percent over that period.

At the individual sector level, technology manufacturers added 33,100 net jobs in the United States in the first half of 2006 for a total of 1.37 million jobs, a 2.5 percent increase, the second consecutive year that high- tech manufacturing is seeing net job growth.

The high-tech services sectors (consisting of communication, software, and engineering and tech services) added 107,000 net jobs over the same time period for a total of 4.44 million jobs, a 2.5 percent rise. Within this sector, engineering and tech services added the most net jobs, 49,800, followed by software services, which added 44,500 net jobs. Even the communications services sector saw its first net job growth since 2000 -- 12,700 jobs, or 0.9 percent, from January to June of 2006.

"The good news is that the U.S. high-tech industry is adding jobs for the second year in a row, and adding jobs across all tech sectors," said AeA's President and CEO, William T. Archey. "But job growth is by no means as strong as we believe it could be, and it continues to lag growth in the private sector as a whole. Strong tech growth benefits our economy because tech industry wages pay 85 percent more than the average private sector wage and support numerous other jobs."

"AeA believes job growth would accelerate if the United States were addressing its competitiveness challenges," continued Archey. "The lifeblood of a high-tech economy is a skilled and educated workforce. Yet our companies struggle to find workers to fill thousands of technical positions right here in the United States. Too many American workers lack the science, math, and engineering backgrounds for these positions. The problem is compounded because U.S companies face restrictions on hiring the best and brightest from around the world. Companies can't obtain visas to bring them here, and many highly skilled and educated foreign nationals are finding opportunities at home. We can't afford to let these talented individuals get away. One of every four scientists and engineers in the United States is a foreign national. They have created tens of thousands of high-paying jobs over recent decades."

All data are compiled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Current Employment Survey and are preliminary.