The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), the state's leading association dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of Georgia's technology industry, today unveiled results from its 2012 State of the Industry: Technology in Georgia Report, including the industry's economic impact of $113.1 billion in total industry sales in 2011.

"Technology plays a significant role in Georgia's economy," said Tino Mantella, president & CEO of TAG. "Now that we understand the economic impact created by the state's technology companies, we have more fodder to support our efforts at driving legislation important to this community and generating the buzz necessary to get Georgia recognized as one of the leading states in the nation for technology."

"This is my second year serving as chair of the State of the Industry Report Taskforce and the interest in sponsoring and using the research we collect has grown each year," said John Yates, chair of the State of the Industry Report Taskforce and partner at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP. "We are proud to serve as a resource of valuable industry information to our technology community. We believe the addition this year of an economic development number truly underscores the important role technology plays in Georgia's economy."

The top 10 key findings from the 2012 Report are:

1. Technology is a significant contributor to Georgia's economy. Georgia companies producing technology products and providing technology services generated an economic impact of $113.1 billion in total industry sales in 2011. The tech industry also contributed 17 percent to the state's gross domestic product (GDP). According to the economic impact analysis, more than 612,000 additional jobs can be attributed to the spending emanating from the technology sector.  
2. Technology employment opportunities in Georgia are growing. Georgia's technology sector added nearly 6,000 jobs in 2011 to reach employment of 253,000 workers. More hiring is planned; a survey of Georgia's technology decision makers found that 71% plan to increase hiring over the next year and 85% plan to increase hiring over the next five years. 
3. Georgia's technology jobs pay more than the average non-technology job. Workers in Georgia's technology sector earned wages, on average, of more than $81,000 in 2011. This is nearly 85% more than was earned by the averageGeorgia worker. Technology salaries are rising; 63% of Georgia's technology decision makers expect wages to increase again this year, according to our survey. The direct payroll for technology employees was more than $20.5 billion in 2011.
4. Georgia needs more technology talent to meet the growing demand. Georgia companies currently have more than 4,000 open technology jobs. 57% of respondents to the Georgia Technology Decision Makers survey said they currently have technology position openings and about one-third said they have difficulty filling these open positions due to a lack of technology talent. According to the survey, the most critical positions – such as systems administrators and application developers – are also the most difficult positions to fill. 
5. Technology is a significant portion of Georgia's exports. Technology now accounts for more than one-third of Georgia's total exports. Tech exports surged 13.5% in the most recent data to reach $9.9 billion in 2011. 
6. Mobile and wireless projects are a key piece of the 2012 strategy for Georgia technology companies.  Echoing the national trend, Georgia's technology decision makers reported their most important technology initiatives for 2012 are mobile/ wireless projects.
7. Georgia's venture capital market continues to lag behind key benchmark states. Georgia's share of the venture capital market has slowly eroded since the technology bubble, according to a 13-year analysis of data, which places the state in jeopardy of consistently falling behind key benchmark states North Carolina and Florida.
8. Georgia must continue efforts to improve STEM education. Georgia's class of 2011 performed below the national average in 8 of 11 Advanced Placement exams offered in STEM-related subjects, according to the College Board. Georgia students also performed below the national average on the math portion of the SAT, placing the state 49^th overall in math SAT performance.  
9. The importance of technology to the state's economy suggests the need for a comprehensive state technology policy. An analysis by Georgia Tech Research Institute's Office of Policy Analysis and Research found that Georgia trailed the national average in six of seven categories of science, technology and innovation legislation in 2011. Georgia ranked 28^th overall in the number of such bills introduced for consideration.
10. Business satisfaction in Georgia is improving. Overall satisfaction with conducting technology business in Georgiaincreased 10% in 2011, according to a survey of technology decision makers in the state.  The satisfaction index, based on a 1-10 scale, improved to 7.5 from 6.8. Although the satisfaction ranking improved, the score remains in the range that indicates improvements still need to be made.

The State of the Industry: Technology in Georgia is TAG's annual industry report to benchmark the growth of Georgia's technology industry against previous years and other top technology states. Primary and secondary research is conducted by Internet Decisions, LLC., including TAG's annual Technology Decision-Makers Survey which polls top executives from more than 120 state technology companies about their plans to hire, expand and invest in their Georgia operations.