High-tech

High-technology is seen by many as a key engine of economic growth in the province. That's hardly surprising given the tremendous advances that have occurred in this sector during the last two-and-a-half decades, not just in BC, but throughout the world. In the early 1980s, the sector was small, and some industries, such as computer systems design services, were virtually non-existent. Most computers were found in businesses, not homes, and they weren't in widespread use. Now, virtually every type of business uses computers, as do most households.

The computer is an essential piece of equipment that's used to do a wide variety of tasks in many different types of businesses. Computers and other high-tech goods and services are used in everything from cars and airplanes to pulp and paper mills, where they are used to help monitor and control the paper-making process.

BC isn't Silicon Valley North, but the province's high-tech sector does make a significant contribution to GDP and employment. The expansion of the sector has been an important factor in the continued diversification of BC's economy away from its dependence on resource extraction and processing towards other types of activities.

What's included in the high-tech sector?

The high-tech sector includes both goods- and service-producing industries.  High-tech manufacturing industries include a wide range of activities ranging from manufacturing pharmaceuticals to computers, communications & other electronic equipment, aerospace products and medical equipment & supplies.

On the service side, the high-tech sector includes software publishers, motion picture & video production and post-production, Internet publishing, telecommunications, data processing, engineering, computer systems design, surveying & mapping, testing laboratories, environmental and other scientific & technical consulting and research & development activities.

It should be noted that the definition of the high-tech sector used by BC Stats has recently been revised to bring it more in line with working definitions used by other agencies. The number of industries included in the sector has been expanded. The definition previously in use did not include motion picture & video production, telecommunications, and some types of scientific & technical services.

Most of the jobs are in high-tech services, which have also accounted for much of the employment growth in the sector

Service industries dominate the high-tech sector, generating the lion's share (80%) of the jobs. High-tech service industries have been the main source of employment growth during the last few years, as the number of jobs in high-tech manufacturing has been declining.

What's happened in high-tech since 1997?

During the 1980s and 1990s high-tech industries all over the world experienced a period of unprecedented growth, as computers developed into an increasingly indispensable tool for businesses as well as consumers. However, the rapid growth in some high-tech industries came to a halt around the turn of the century.

BC's high-tech sector is playing an increasingly important role in the economy

Demand for these products began to slow as the market became saturated. Computers were no longer a new tool that was being acquired by businesses; and the advances in technology and speed of computation that had made many early models become rapidly obsolete slowed from the frenetic pace seen earlier. Many people who wanted computers already had them, and the improvements that were being introduced weren't so significant that they felt obliged to replace the equipment as quickly as in the past.

The early years of this century were difficult ones in high-tech related industries all over the world. However there are signs that a comeback is well underway in BC as well as in other parts of the world.

Employment in high-tech manufacturing appears to be leveling off after falling earlier in the decade. In high-tech services, the number of jobs is increasing, but at a slower pace than in the past.

In terms of GDP, the high-tech sector continues to grow faster than the rest of the economy, and its share of GDP has risen to more than 6%, up from just under 5% in 1997. Although there are fewer people employed in high-tech industries than in the tourism sector, the sector's contribution to total GDP is quite a bit higher.

The large, and growing, gap between GDP and employment shares in this sector suggests that there have been significant labour productivity gains in high-tech industries. Producers of high-tech goods as well as services have seen GDP grow considerably faster than employment during the period from 1997 to 2004. For the sector as a whole, GDP expanded 64% between 1997 and 2004, nearly three times the increase in the number of jobs during this period.

Four out of ten jobs in the high-tech sector are in computer and engineering services.

How many people work in the high-tech sector?

In 2004, there were 65,500 people working in the province's high-tech sector.

Most (52,400) of them were employed in high-tech service industries such as computer services and engineering (25,100) or telecommunications (14,300).

High-tech manufacturing establishments employed 13,100 British Columbians in 2004.

What's the outlook for the high-tech sector?

After experiencing some challenges early in the decade, the high-tech sector appears to be back on track and it's likely that the industry will continue to grow during the next few years.