Ranked by absolute numbers, high-tech employment is growing fastest in Northern Virginia, but ranked in percentage terms, it’s growing fastest in Central Virginia (Richmond and Charlottesville), according to the 4th quarter Regional Scorecard for Virginia’s High-Technology Industries.
Without question, Northern Virginia remains the Big Kahuna of high-tech industry in Virginia, with 21.3 percent of all firms falling into industries classified as “high technology” according to the “Hecker” methodology (high-tech industries employ twice the average of scientific, technical and engineering occupations). The study was conducted by Chmura Economics & Analytics and funded by the Center for Innovative Technology.
But 10.3 percent of all Central Virginia firms are classified as high tech, and high-tech employment increased 3.4 percent there over the past four quarters — even faster than NoVa’s 2.6 percent increase. Hampton Roads and Roanoke/Blacksburg/Lynchburg also have respectable high-tech industry clusters.
What’s encouraging about the job growth in Central Virginia (which I call home, so I pay more attention to it) is the dynamism of “embryonic” and “small” firms. Although job growth among medium and large high-tech employers was restrained, it was strong in early-stage enterprises — even exceeding embryonic/small job growth in Northern Virginia, with its vast entrepreneurial support network. (In NoVa, most high-tech job growth came from large enterprises.) Another surprising performer in early-stage firms is the west/central region (Roanoke/Blacksburg/Lynchburg).
Growth in high-tech employment is a crucial indicator of regional prosperity. Not only do “high tech” industries enjoy better growth prospects, but they pay considerably higher wages and salaries than their lower-tech counterparts.
One small gripe: While it’s useful to compare the progress made by Virginia’s regions, it would be helpful to know how our regions compare nationally. It would be nice if CIT could afford to broaden the scope of the research project.
(Click on map for larger, more detailed image.)