TECHNOLOGY

The technology sector in the Boulder Valley is primarily comprised of information technology, telecommunications and – what it’s most well-known for – data storage. According to the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, in 2005 technology companies employed about 18,000 workers in the Boulder Valley. The department expects these types of jobs to increase to 18,800 in 2007.

Much consolidation – and job loss – was seen in the data storage industry during 2005 and 2006
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun Microsystems’ purchase of Storage Technology Corp. resulted in an estimated 450 job cuts in Louisville and Broomfield, although Sun continues to employ about 4,700 locally.

Scotts Valley, Calif.-based Seagate Technology’s purchase of Milpitas, Calif.-based Maxtor Corp. resulted in the closing of Maxtor’s Longmont plant and the loss of more than 600 jobs. Seagate’s Longmont facility still has about 1,400 workers.

Consolidation will continue, says Tucker Hart Adams, president of The Adams Group Inc. and the economist behind US Bank’s annual Colorado economic forecast. “Most of what resulted from the bubble that burst (in 2000-2001) has worked its way out. For the technology sector to compete internationally, controlling costs is essential,” she said.

Adams predicts Colorado is heading into a recession for the next year or two, but that afterward the tech sector will grow. But, she says, “It won’t be the ’90s again. Not every type of job will expand.”

People have to be patient, according to Adams, because, “Technology is a long-term growth sector.”

Tom Miller, executive director of Workforce Boulder County, saw a slight improvement in the technology job market in 2006 and expects it to continue into 2007.

Many technology jobs that come through Miller’s office, which serves as the job placement arm of the state’s department of labor, are manufacturing positions.

Between 2002 and 2005 Colorado lost almost 30,000 manufacturing jobs, Miller says. “But we’ve been holding our own locally, even through manufacturing is doing badly nationwide. Job openings have been up over the last three years,” 390, 357 and 497 during 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively.

With information technology it’s more difficult to determine how many jobs are really available in the Boulder Valley. Miller says one local IT company is advertising 3,000 job openings worldwide.

“We’ve seen a little more activity in the IT area, but nothing like it was in early 2000,” he says.

The technology unemployment rate is fairly low as well, Miller says. Today it is 3.6 percent, which is where it was in 2000. Back then Workforce Boulder County was seeing 6,800 job seekers a year. In 2006 it served 11,000, down from 13,000 the last couple of years.

More technology professionals will be looking for work in 2007, Miller predicts.

“What we’re seeing is people who have maybe taken jobs they needed to take, but since they have qualifications for better jobs they are now looking for jobs,” he says.

The other type of job seekers will be from households that during the tech boom had two wage earners. Many of those former two-income households survived on one income during the past four or five years, but, “Now that jobs are picking up a little bit they are out searching,” Miller says.

Statewide

After decreasing by an estimated 1,600 jobs in 2006, employment in Colorado’s information technology segment is expected to remain fairly stable in 2007, increasing by about 300 jobs, according to the 2007 Colorado Business Economic Outlook.

More than 16,000 telecom jobs have been shed since 2000. The trend will continue, the outlook predicts. Employment in the telecommunications industry will fall 5.1 percent in 2006 and another 1.8 percent (equaling a loss of about 500 jobs) in 2007.

Colorado companies that once dominated the computer storage industry have been the targets of various mergers and acquisitions, resulting in continued job losses. Therefore, according to the outlook, employment in storage technology will decline again by 2,100 workers in 2006 and another 1,000 in 2007.

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