TechAmerica, formed by the merger of AeA and the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), has released its 12th annual Cyberstates report, which includes a first-ever supplement with a 3rd and 4th quarter breakdown of 2008 tech employment. Fourth quarter data show the tech industry's resilience compared to the U.S. economy as a whole, having sustained only a 0.6 percent drop in employment, or 38,000 jobs, in Q4 2008 when total private-sector employment declined by 1.3 percent.

Cyberstates 2009 includes state-by-state data, the most recent available from 2007, and shows that 39 cyberstates experienced net tech job growth. The largest gains occurred in Texas (+14,700), Georgia (+13,100), Washington (+11,300), North Carolina (+5,500), and Virginia (+5,300). On a percentage basis, Kansas saw the fastest job growth in 2007 at 8.1 percent.

For the fourth straight year, Virginia led the nation with the highest concentration of tech workers - 92 of every 1,000 private sector workers in the state were employed in the tech industry. Virginia was followed by Massachusetts and Colorado.

Cyberstates 2009 relies on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The report provides 2008 national data on tech employment as well as 2007 national and state-by-state data on high-tech employment, wages, establishments, payroll, wage differential, and employment concentration. All data are the most recent available at the time of publication.

Two other major TechAmerica cyber reports that analyze the U.S. high-tech industry are forthcoming: Cybercities 2009: An Overview of the High-Technology Industry in the Nation's Top 60 Cities and Trade in the Cyberstates 2009: A State-by-State Overview of High-Tech International Trade.