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State of the NH High Tech Economy

October 15, 2008

Recently Ross Gittell and his team at UNH released the latest report on the Granite State’s High Tech Economy.  We will share more on this report in the future, but the most immediate thing to know is that we need polticians elected on Nov 4th that understand both the importance of the high tech industry to our state and the policies required to keep it fueled and growing!

Profile of the High Technology Industry in New Hampshire

ØNew Hampshire’s high tech industry accounts for 9 percent of total private sector employment in the state (about 49,000 jobs) and for approximately one-quarter of the state’s economic output.

ØIn 2006 in New Hampshire high tech average annual earning was just under $75,200, which is 75 percent higher than average (all industries) wage.

ØIn 2007 New Hampshire exported $1.1 billion in high tech goods, which accounts for 36 percent of total exports from New Hampshire.

ØDuring the “tech bust” of the early 2000’s New Hampshire had a higher percentage decline in high tech employment than any other state.  Between 2000 and 2003 high tech employment fell over 22 percent in New Hampshire, compared to a decrease of 12 percent in the nation.

ØThe current level of high technology employment in the state is lower than in the early 1990s and New Hampshire has dropped in the high tech concentration rank, from 4th in 1995 to 8th in 2006.  

ØThe most significant employment decline has been in high tech manufacturing industries. 

ØThere are opportunities to expand the base of high technology employment in the state. This includes opportunity to grow sectors of the high technology industry that are already strong — including defense-related industries — and to grow in sectors that are emerging in importance — including in the so-called “green economy.”

ØThe next couple of years will be challenging ones for firms in the high tech industry (and all industries). But in high technology with challenges, come opportunities to innovate, to develop new products and services, and to serve and create new markets and these opportunities are all available for high technology companies in New Hampshire. 


Written by Jesse Devitte · Filed Under Blog, Personal, Politics |  

“Our Future In The Innovation Century”

October 5, 2008

Earllier this year a group of us - players from Technet, NH High Tech Council and the University of New Hampshire worked to create the first-ever cross-party Presidential candidate forums. The idea was to match up the community organizer Sen Barack Obama versus the venture capitalist Gov Mitt Romney or think Gov Richardson versus Gov Huckabee … We never pulled those off which was primarily due to the extraordinary  fundraising pressure on this cycle’s crop of Presidential candidates.  While NH is THE place for Presidential Politics with our First-In-The-Nation primary, it is not a place to raise money so candidates came and went so quickly and it was more challenging than ever to engage them in substantive events like this. Oh, and one more thing - the War was the hot topic then and some told us that the economy was not simply not the top topic - boy how things have changed! 

So, finally there will be a forum titled “Our Future In The Innovation Century”!   And it does engage the hardest fought election in NH this cycle - NH’s incumbent US Senator John Sununu versus Governor Jeanne Shaheen. Both of these candidates have a healthy base of support in our NH tech community so it should be a great evening - more info below.

The event will be held on Monday, October 20th, 5:00 – 7:30 pm, in the Huddleston Ballroom on the University of New Hampshire’s Durham campus.  

CO-HOSTS: The University of New Hampshire (www.unh.edu) will host the forum.  The New Hampshire High Technology Council (NHHTC) (www.nhhtc.org), the voice of the Granite State’s technology sector, and TechNet, a national bipartisan network of more than 175 technology CEOs (www.technet.org), are organizing this event in collaboration with the University. 

BACKGROUND:  The leadership of the technology sector in innovation and new ideas has positioned the United States and the state of New Hampshire as a leader in economic growth, job creation, prosperity, and quality of life.  Information technology is responsible for nearly all of the increase in economic growth over the last decade in the nation and New Hampshire.  In the past quarter century, New Hampshire’s economy has been transformed by high technology.  The state’s economic base has changed from traditional manufacturing to a concentration in high technology and skilled professional services.  New Hampshire has improved in rank (among the 50 states) in per capita income from 25th to 6th.  The state consistently ranks among the top 10 in percentage of employment in high technology and over one-third of the state’s economy is related to the high technology industry. 

In advance of the event, UNH faculty and industry leaders will prepare issue briefs for the candidates on the topics to be discussed at the forum including the high tech economy, competitiveness in New Hampshire, the entrepreneurial economy, income insecurity among New Hampshire households, and the economic potential of growing the state’s green tech industry.The members of Our Future in the Innovation Century Steering Committee are: 

University of New Hampshire: Ross Gittell, Professor, Whittemore School of Business and Economics  Dante Scala, Associate Professor of Political Science, Jeffrey Sohl, Professor & Director, Center for Venture Research, Whittemore School of Business and Economics,  Andrew Smith, Director, UNH Survey Center, Associate Professor of Political Science, Tama Andrews, Political Science Graduate Program Coordinator and Lecturer.

New Hampshire High Technology Council: Fred Kocher, President, Matt Pierson, Chairman

TechNet: Andrea Durkin, TechNet New England Executive Director, Lezlee Westine, President & CEO

Jesse Devitte, TechNet New England Executive Council, Borealis Ventures Managing Director 

 

Written by Jesse Devitte · Filed Under Blog, Personal, Politics |