Houston’s dogged efforts to construct a know-how and innovation neighborhood made little progress in 2019, with the tech sector including fewer than 1,00zero jobs and making solely a minor affect on town’s economic system, in keeping with a examine by a nationwide tech trade advocacy group.
In its Cyberstates 2020 study, CompTIA discovered the Houston-Sugar Land-The Woodlands space added simply 824 tech jobs in 2019. The area got here in 12th in U.S. metropolitan markets when it comes to total employment rankings, however solely 38th when it comes to tech jobs added.
Tech accounts for simply 5.Four p.c of Houston’s economic system, low in comparison with different cities, in keeping with the examine, which was launch in late April.
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CompTIA, which gives certification applications for tech staff and conducts ongoing analysis into the sector nationally, discovered that Texas as a complete fared higher. The state ranked second nationally in total tech employment and within the variety of sector jobs added final yr, with a further 27,466 new positions.
Dallas was the Texas metropolis that did finest within the examine, including 9,932 new tech jobs for a 2.eight p.c enhance in 2019, rating seventh in web know-how employment and sixth in new jobs added. In Dallas, a hub for telecommunications firms corresponding to AT&T, tech is 12.Four p.c of the regional economic system, giving it a rank of 14th amongst U.S. metro areas.
Austin, which is commonly regarded as Texas’ tech capital, lagged Dallas with 7,131 jobs added for a 4.5 p.c enhance final yr, however ranked 10th when it comes to web tech jobs added. Tech in Austin makes for a much bigger chunk of that metropolis’s economic system at 23.eight p.c, coming in 4th for financial affect rank.
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Houston has been aggressively looking for to nurture and construct a know-how neighborhood over the previous few years. A collaboration between town and Rice College is behind a drive to construct an innovation district south of Midtown, centered across the outdated Sears constructing there.
Building continues even through the coronavirus lockdown to transform it right into a hub for tech actions referred to as the Ion.
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