August 3, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Concentration of high-tech employment

Nearly half of employment in high-tech industries was concentrated in just five industries in 1996. Of the 9.3 million jobs in high-tech industries, 4.5 million were in the five largest industries.

[Chart data—TXT]

The biggest industry, computer and data processing services, accounted for 1.2 million jobs. In each of the other large industries shown in the chart, employment was less than a million in 1996. There were 963,000 jobs in motor vehicles and equipment manufacturing; 873,000 in management and public relations services; 839,000 in engineering and architectural services; and 610,000 in electronic components and accessories manufacturing.

These figures come from a BLS study that identified a total of 29 high-tech industries. Of these industries, 25 are in the manufacturing sector and four are in services.

Data on employment by industry are available from the BLS Occupational Employment Statistics Survey. Find more information on high-tech employment in "High-technology employment: a broader view," by Daniel Hecker, Monthly Labor Review, June 1999.