Innovation
High-Technology Employment
Description: Various definitions of high technology have been created. The definition used here is based on definitions created by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the American Electronics Association, and Carnegie Mellon University.
Most of the component high-technology activities are defined at the industry group level of the North American Industry Classification System, but a few additional industries are included. Service activities include software publishers; other telecommunications; data processing, hosting, and related; architectural, engineering, and related; computer systems design and related; and scientific research and development. The high-technology manufacturing activities are pharmaceutical and medicine; computer and peripheral equipment; communications equipment; audio and video equipment; semiconductor and other electronic components; navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments; aerospace products and parts; semiconductor machinery; optical instruments and lenses; and photographic and photocopying equipment.
Rationale: High-technology activities by definition are innovative activities. While innovation occurs in many other industries, no accepted definition of innovative industries exists.
Data Sources: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, County Business Patterns http://www.census.gov/epcd/cbp/view/cbpview.html. For a discussion of the definition of high technology and additional data and analysis, see the report “High-Technology Activities in Arizona: 2007 Update” produced for the Arizona Department of Commerce http://www.azcommerce.com/Research.
Comments on the Quality of the Data: Some of the data for component industries of the high technology measure had to be estimated due to the data being withheld by the federal government.
