Digital Corridor Workers Doubling Up Wage Average

Local technology employers are paying more than twice the average wage earned by workers in the Lowcountry and around the state, according to a recent survey by the city of Charleston's Digital Corridor initiative.

The average wage for the Digital Corridor companies that responded to the survey is $66,583, a 1.3% increase from last year's figure of $65,707. The latest information available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the average wage in the tri-county area is $33,040, while South Carolina's average wage for all occupations is $32,250.

Ernest Andrade, executive director of the Digital Corridor, said that data reflects national trends. "Wage rates for knowledge-economy companies are typically twice the per-capita wages of the overall economy," he said. "In a recent presentation by the chief information officer for Bellvue, Wash., she stated that the average wage for their tech companies was $80,000, which is twice the per-capita wages for the overall economy. This reinforces the fact that what we are seeing in Charleston as it relates to knowledge-economy wage levels is not an anomaly but a solid fact."

At a meeting of the Economic Club of America this summer, U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao confirmed those stats. "Hourly earnings of production and non-supervisory workers grew at 3.8 percent over the last 12 months, the fastest in nearly five years," she said. "And our college graduates face the best jobs market since 2001. In fact, accounting and computer-engineering graduates can expect starting salaries that are more than 5 percent higher this year."

Chao also noted that signing bonuses are back in vogue. According to a recent poll by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 65% of employers are offering signing bonuses for technology-related positions. Fostering an environment that will grow a knowledge-based economy for highly skilled, high-tech workers is the heart of the Digital Corridor initiative, Andrade said.

In a recent white paper produced for the Intelligent Community Forum, Andrade outlined the ingredients for building a sustainable knowledge economy in the area: "Three key pieces of statistical data reinforce an argument that communities should spend more of their economic development resources on business formation. First, approximately 80 percent of all job creation occurs from within the community; second, a majority of the businesses being formed today have five or fewer employees; and third, there is an inverse relationship between high-wage, knowledge-based companies and their physical space requirements."

The job creation community of the Digital Corridor consists of four geographic areas on the peninsula and Daniel Island that offer a range of options to meet the unique size, personality, price and infrastructure requirements for all types of knowledge-based industries. "By knowledge-based, we mean a company or organization that utilizes or offers new or incrementally beneficial approaches to their respective fields," Andrade said.

These types of companies include those in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, telecommunications, medical-device design and engineering, scientific discovery and proprietary electronic equipment and applications. The number of companies in the Digital Corridor has grown from 18 in 2001 to nearly 80 this year.

"The recent dedication of the newly constructed Benefitfocus.com and Nanoscreen corporate headquarters buildings within a week of each other and strong growth in employment at Digital Corridor companies provides irrefutable evidence that Charleston's knowledge-based community continues to be robust," said Andrade.

To further assist in technology job creation, the Digital Corridor has developed a talent portal for exclusive use by its companies. "Recognizing that talent is the key driver for successful knowledge-based companies, the talent portal connects qualified talent with career opportunities," said Andrade. "This portal has also successfully addressed issues of brain-drain and spousal employment by allowing students and spouses to post and search relevant information."