San Jose still No. 1 in high-tech, but others narrow lead

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- San Jose held on as the country's No. 1 high-tech job source, but cities like Colorado Springs and San Francisco showed big job-growth spurts. Boston was solidly in second place.

San Jose had 252,900 high-tech jobs in the most recent statistics, according to a study released by the NASDAQ Stock Market and the American Electronics Association, a high-tech trade association.

Boston accounted for 234,800 high-tech jobs, followed by Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Dallas. Los Angeles, with 160,500, was ranked sixth in the 1998 figures.

The "Cybercities" study named San Francisco the second-fastest growing high-tech job city with a 65 percent increase over five years, trailing only Colorado Springs' 77 percent growth.

The average high-tech annual salary in San Jose was $85,100, putting it second behind Seattle, where workers averaged $129,300. San Francisco high-tech wages were fourth in the nation, at an average of $78,400.