Hawaii below national
average in technology jobs

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Associated Press

The percentage of payroll from high-tech companies in Hawaii is the lowest in the western United States and below the national average, according to a Federal Reserve Bank report released yesterday.

In Hawaii, 2.5 percent of payroll comes from tech, as well as 1.4 percent of jobs, compared with an average of 14.6 percent of payroll and 6.1 percent of jobs for the nine western states. Nationally, 7.5 percent of payroll is from tech and 4.1 percent of jobs, according to the report

High-tech's economic clout is nearly two times greater in the western United States than in the rest of the country.

The industry's impact on jobs in the West isn't as dramatic. High-tech employers account for 6 percent of the jobs in the Western states, slightly above the 4 percent rate outside the region.

High-tech packs the biggest payroll punch in California, home to the Silicon Valley, and Washington state, home to computer software goliath Microsoft Corp. High-tech accounts for 17 percent of the nonfarm wages in California and 16 percent in Washington, the report said.

Four other Western states -- Arizona, Oregon, Idaho and Utah -- depend on high-tech for more of their workers' wages than the national average. The high-tech payroll in Nevada, Hawaii and Alaska falls below the national average, the report said.