Measuring 2-year Tech Employment Change: AEA and BLS

A recent study released by the AeA reported a decline of 560,000 high-tech jobs in the U.S. over the period from January 2001 to December 2002. However, AeA’s Tech Employment Update may not show the true magnitude of the decrease in high-tech jobs, as the AeA definition of high-tech excludes many industrial sectors with significant R&D investments.

Using a broader definition developed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals high tech employment fell by 602,000 jobs. The BLS definition was updated by Daniel Hecker in "High-Technology Employment: A Broader View" in the June 1999 issue of Monthly Labor Review.

For some sectors the drop is quite severe. For example, employment in communications equipment fell by 29.7 percent over the 24 months. Fourteen SIC codes experienced double-digit declines while increases were posted in only four sectors — drugs; ordnance and accessories; research and testing services; and, management and public relations.

SSTI has prepared a table presenting change in high-tech employment by sector for the period between January 2001 and December 2002. The table presents data for both the AeA and BLS definitions of high tech and is available at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/Go_Sens.htm. SSTI's aggregate totals for AeA's definition of high-tech employment do not exactly match AeA's figures since SSTI utilized data at the 3-digit SIC code level and AeA's definition is defined at the 4-digit level.