The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
For the first time since the state lost tens of thousands of jobs after the dot-com collapse, California companies have added tech workers to their payrolls, according to a report that tracks nationwide employment in the industry.
The Cyberstates report unveiled today by the American Electronics Association said the state added 14,400 net jobs, an increase of 2 percent that boosted the tech industry total to 919,322 in 2005, according to the most current state data available.
California's gains mark "the first net increase in jobs (here) since the tech bubble began to burst in 2000,'' the association said.
But the news isn't so good because wages are lower than 2000:
average high-tech compensation -- a definition that includes fringe benefits and stock option income - was $75,501 in 2005, up one percent in inflation-adjusted terms from 2004. That continued a steady uptick since 2001, when the comparable figure was $73,167, but is considerably less than the $78,691 average achieved in 2000.
This story is well worth reading.
