U.S. high-tech industry lost 4% of jobs in 2009

The U.S. high-tech industry lost 245,600 jobs in 2009, according to a report being issued by the TechAmerica Foundation. The foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of the same-named trade association, said the 5.9 million Americans who worked in the industry last year earned an average annual wage of $84,400 - compared with the average private sector wage of $45,400. The study, titled Cyberstates 2010, is based on federal employment data. It says tech employment slipped 4 percent in 2009 compared with the 5 percent decline that occurred in overall private-sector payrolls last year. "While it weathered the storm better than the private sector at large, the U.S. high-tech industry clearly felt the effect of the recession in 2009," foundation President Christopher Hansen said.