The high-tech industry in Los Angeles ranked sixth in the nation according to a study released by AeA, the industry trade association. The region employed 172,200 employees with a payroll of $14.3 billion in 2006, the most recent statistics available. Los Angeles led the nation in the number of defense electronics manufacturing jobs with 28,600. The region ranked 6th in telecommunications services employment with 25,300 jobs and 11th in computer systems design and related services employment with 26,300 jobs. “The high-tech industry in Los Angeles is large and has been steadily growing for the past couple of years,” said Joella Lapiana, Executive Director of AeA’s Los Angeles Council. “This is partly due to the fact that there are there are so many fantastic colleges and universities in the area supplying the constant stream of skills the tech industry needs.” Areas with more high-tech jobs were the New York Metro Area, Washington, DC, San Jose/Silicon Valley, Boston, and Dallas-Fort Worth, according to the study.
