GDP up, number of jobs down in BC’s tech sector: 2005 report

Shortly into the new year, Leading Edge BC – an organization set up to promote British Columbia’s technology sector – and BC Stats released their Profile of the British Columbia High-Tech Sector report for 2005. Included for the first time were industries related to interactive media such as motion picture and video production, software publishers, and Internet publishing and broadcasting. Below are excerpts from the executive summary. High technology, by its very nature, is constantly changing and, as such, is difficult to define. Nevertheless, the critical role that high technology plays in the economy and in society in general makes it a vital area of study and it is essential to develop methods of measuring the economic contribution of the high tech sector. With this edition of the Profile report, the definition of the sector has been expanded to reflect the changing nature of the concept of high technology. Service sector industries such as telecommunications and motion picture production have been added in consideration of the expanded role of technology in those industries. With this broader definition of high technology, it is clearer than ever before that the sector is an important part of British Columbia’s economy. In 2004, BC’s high tech sector recorded above average growth in every indicator with the exception of employment, where it suffered the most significant job loss in the country. It ranked second in the country in expansion of gross domestic product (GDP) and value of international commodity exports and experienced the strongest improvement in revenues and average earnings. BC’s high technology sector continued to expand in 2004, with high tech GDP rising 4.6% from the level achieved in 2003, to over $8.3 billion (1997 constant dollars). GDP in the service sector continued to climb, increasing 4.2% from the value posted in 2003. The high technology manufacturing sector also recorded strong growth, with GDP climbing 6.6% in 2004. Despite the growth in GDP, employment in the high technology sector in BC fell 2.4% in 2004. Both the service (-1.7%) and manufacturing (-5.1%) sectors contributed to the drop in employment. Total high technology employment in British Columbia fell to 64,660 in 2004, with high tech services responsible for four-fifths of this figure. Increased output coupled with reduced employment levels indicates that productivity improved in the high tech sector in 2004. Similar to GDP, high technology revenues in British Columbia continued to climb, rising 6.8% to just shy of $14 billion. Both service (+7.4%) and manufacturing (+4.1%) industries contributed to the overall increase in high tech revenue. ...Wages and salaries paid by BC high tech industries reached $3.6 billion in 2004, edging up 0.3% over the previous year despite falling employment. At $1,070, average weekly earnings in the high tech sector significantly exceed the overall BC average weekly wage rate of $690…. ...British Columbia’s high technology sector has undergone significant growth in the last decade and is likely to emerge as an even more important segment of the provincial economy in the years to come. The increasing penetration of high technology into all facets of life...should ensure that this sector will continue to expand and British Columbia’s presence in the sector should continue to grow as well.

GDP up, number of jobs down in BC’s tech sector: 2005 report

News | 03/20/2006 5:00 am EST

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