2024 NC STIR Key Findings

A PUBLICATION OF

ncstir.com

2024 REPORT UNDERWRITERS PREMIER

LEAD

ASSOCIATE

CONTRIBUTING

North Carolina State of Technology

Industry Report

Key Findings

WOMEN IN TECH

TECH INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

TOP TIER

NC rises to the #1 state in the percentage of women who make up the Tech Industry workforce with 37.1%.

In 2022, the Tech Industry employed 312,070 people and workers earned about $40 billion in income in the state of North Carolina. The Tech Industry accounted directly for 7% of the total jobs in the state but 12% of the state’s total earnings and almost 11% in sales. In 2022, there were over 30,386 technology establishments operating in North Carolina, an increase of 5,018 from estimates in the previous report.

NC ranks among Top 15 states in:

#1

NC STRENGTHS • #1 state for Women in the Tech Industry with 37.1% of workforce • #3 highest Energy Tech Job Change from 2017 to 2022 • #3 largest number of startups that spun out of university technology • #5 in Higher Education R&D in Science & Engineering as % of GDP • #6 fastest increase in tech occupations of almost 29% from 2017-2022 • #8 in both Start-Up Early Job Creation Rate and Start-Up Early Survival Rate • #10 state in total Tech Industry employment growth • #11 most concentrated state in Life Sciences employment • #12 state in venture capital funding per gross state product • #14 and #12 in both total and business performed research + development

ECONOMIC IMPACT The Tech Industry in North Carolina has an employment multiplier of 3.07 meaning that for every one job in the Tech Industry approximately two other jobs are supported throughout the state economy across all industries. $40 billion in earnings in the Tech Industry supports $79 billion in wages across the NC economy, accounting for over 24% of state’s total earnings. The Tech Industry contributes over 21% to the overall state employment.

TECH SERVICES OUTPUT Tech services represent the high-tech core services like social media, data storage, telecommunications, and software companies. From 2017-2022 NC ranked #8 in Tech Services Job Change.

ENERGY TECH INDUSTRY As we shift to cleaner tech like solar, wind, nuclear & carbon capture, NC is predicted to add jobs in this industry group at the #2 highest rate in the next five years.

TECH INDUSTRY EMPLOYMENT GROWTH Employment growth rate in IT from 2017 to 2022 was 19%. This ranks North Carolina #13 across all states.

• Tech Sector Employment Growth • Avg. Annual Wage Tech Sector Employees w/ Purchasing Power • % Women In Tech Workforce • IT (Tech Core) Employment Growth • Avg. Annual Wage IT Sector Employees w/ Purchasing Power • Life Sciences Employment Concentration • Life Sciences Job Change • Avg. Earnings Life Sciences Employees w/ Purchasing Power • Energy Tech Job Change • Expected Energy Tech Job Change • Tech Services Job Change • Expected Tech Services Job Change • Tech Manufacturing Employment Concentration • Avg. Annual Earnings Tech Manufacturing Adjusted for Purchasing Power • Tech Occupations Growth • Expected Tech Occupations Growth • Median Annual Earnings Adjusted for Purchasing Power • Total R&D as a % of GDP • Business Performed R&D as a % of Private GDP • Higher Education R&D in Science & Engineering • Venture Capital Invested Per $1 Million of GDP • Tech Licenses and Options from Universities • Start-Ups From Universities • Business Opening vs Closing Rate • Start-Up Early Job Creation Rate • Start-Up Early Survival Rate • Completed STEM Education Programs Per 1,000 Students • % Change in STEM Education Program Completions • Avg. In-State 4-Year University Tuition Cost • State Spending on Higher Education Per FTE Student • % of Workers Working from Home

TECH INDUSTRY JOB GROWTH One of the strongest performance indicators for the state’s tech industry is its recent growth and future growth potential. In the past five years, jobs in this industry have grown by over 20% in the state. That is the #10 highest growth rate in the country, and nearly five percentage points higher than the national average.

$136,100 Average earning per worker in the Tech Industry

TECH OCCUPATIONS There are 415,350 workers in tech occupations in North Carolina. This is higher than the 312,070 workers employed by the Tech Industry. This means there is a significant portion of tech occupations outside the traditional tech companies in the state.

36% of tech occupations are located at tech companies, the rest are employed in other industries.

TECH START-UPS

#3

North Carolina had the #3 largest number of start-ups that spun out of university technology, with 70 new companies established.

LIFE SCIENCES INDUSTRY New to this year’s report, the performance of the other subcategories of the tech industry were ranked. Life Sciences was the fastestgrowing tech subcategory in the state from 2021 to 2022. In 2022, Life Sciences accounted for 2.3% of NC’s employment with a location quotient of 1.12. This was the #11 most concentrated Life Science economy in the nation. The subcategory has expanded jobs at a rate of 32.7% over the last five years. That growth ranked #5 in the nation, an impressive feat considering Life Sciences jobs were already concentrated in the state.

CHANGE IN STEM PROGRAMS STEM program completions from 2017 to 2022 found that NC has experienced an increase of 28%.

After several years North Carolina ranks of continued tenth for Median improvement in Annual Earnings this ranking, for Tech Occupations NC dropped from #3 to #5.

#10

#4 #3

#5

Carolina ranksits fourth NorthNorth Carolina holds rank at in higher education R&D third in Average In-State 4-Year in S&E Fields University Tuition Cost.

#9

North Carolina ranks ninth in State Spending on Higher Education per FTE Student

ncstir.com

ABOUT THE REPORT In January 2015, the North Carolina Technology Association (NC TECH) released its first State of Technology Industry Report, and annually thereafter. The full report is housed online at NCSTIR.com and this Key Findings summary features some of the highlights from the research.

The valuable information in the report has a variety of uses: Repository of facts, statistics, trends, narratives + insights into NC’s tech sector

Collection of stories that highlight the vibrancy of the state’s tech sector

Guide for companies considering headquarters relocation or operations establishment

Resource for innovation sector organizations, economic development community, + media

Source of data + trends for policy makers

For more information about NC TECH and the State of Technology Industry Report, visit nctech.org.

ABOUT THE RESEARCHER Ted Abernathy is the managing partner at Economic Leadership LLC, an information curation consultancy firm that provides leadership to various organizations including local and state governments, chambers of commerce and private organizations. Prior to starting Economic Leadership, Ted had 30 years of experience as an economic development director for city, county and regional economic development programs. More information at econleadership.com.