High-Tech and Computer Systems Design and Related Services Employment in the Rogue Valley

Guy R. Tauer, Regional Economist,
Guy.R.Tauer@state.or.us 541-776-6060 ext. 240

In the Rogue Valley, there were 277 businesses that had 2,753 payroll jobs defined as high tech in 2012. In Jackson County, total high-tech payroll was $125,206,372 with average pay per job at $55,133. Josephine County had $28,884,260 total payroll with average annual pay at $59,929. Note that one high-tech industry – aerospace product and parts manufacturing – is not included in these employment and payroll totals due to confidentiality. This happens when there are too few businesses in an industry, or one business accounts for a very large share of employment in the industry.

One small, but rapidly growing and fairly high-paying component of high tech is computer systems design and related services. This industry more than doubled its payroll employment from the first quarter of 2003 to the first quarter of 2013. Average monthly pay rose from $3,364 to $5,372 during that time, for a 35.5 percent gain. In comparison, average monthly pay for total Rogue Valley industry employment increased by 26 percent over the same time period. You may not have heard of Dr. Networking, Excalibur Computer Solutions, Helix Inc., Vortx Inc., Tekmanagement Inc., Gamma Software, or Project A, Inc.,  but they are a few of the nearly 70 businesses in the Rogue Valley’s rapidly growing computer systems design industry. While Southern Oregon represents a fairly small slice of the state’s 90,000 high-tech jobs, employment is rising in many components and those high-paying jobs are a benefit to the region.

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