N.H. ranks 9th in tech employment study: nearly 71 of 1,000 workers are employed in state's tech sector.

New Hampshire is among the states with the largest percentage of employees working in high-technology fields, according to a new study.

According to trade group TechAmerica's "Cyberstates 2009" report, the Granite State ranks ninth among the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico by employment concentration of high-tech workers--nearly 71 workers for every 1,000 workers in the private sector.

The base number of those employed in New Hampshire's tech industry in 2007--the most current data available--was 38,500, 34th in the country. The 2007 total was 200 higher from the previous year.

According to the study, New Hampshire's high-tech workers earn significantly more than the average salary for private sector employees-$81,300 a year, or 84 percent higher than the average wage ]his figure places the state 13th in the nation. It ranked 12th in the previous study.

Other "Cyberstates" rankings for New Hampshire include:

* 29th in high-tech payroll, at $3.7 billion

* 33rd in high-tech establishments, at 2,800

* Fourth in photonics manufacturing with 1,700 jobs

* Ninth in measuring and control instruments manufacturing, with 8,200 jobs

* 13th in electronic components manufacturing, with 5,400 jobs

"Without a doubt, the technology industry powers high-wage employment in New Hampshire," said Anne Doherty Johnson, executive director for TechAmerica New England. "The 2008 national data show that America's tech sector weathered the storm remarkably well in 2008, and will likely be in a good position to lead economic recovery in New Hampshire and throughout the country. If New Hampshire can tap into the federal stimulus package to make key technology infrastructure investments, we may be able to expedite the recovery process in New England."

Regionally, Massachusetts was the New England high-tech leader in most of the categories. In addition to being the No. 2 state for high-tech worker concentration, it also was second in the nation for average high-tech salary, at $100,500, or 80 percent above that state's average private sector salary. Massachusetts also had 246,500 high-tech workers - sixth highest in the country.

A copy of the full report is available at techamerica.org.