Silicon Valley losing middle wage jobs

The demographics are changing fast in Silicon Valley and this may hit the IT community first. The latest survey shows that the nation's technology heartland is losing its middle-wage work force. A survey by the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network found that from 2002 to 2006, middle-wage jobs fell to 46 percent of the workforce, from a high of 52 percent. The vanishing jobs--those between $30,000 and $80,000 in yearly income--include positions like secretaries, clerks and customer support representatives.

It's hard to say if these jobs are impacted by outsourcing but it is likely that the movement of many tech positions overseas has had some ripple effects. "If you lose the middle, it's harder to support the top," said Doug Henton, an economist at Collaborative Economics, a research and consulting firm in Mountain View, Calif., that helped prepare the annual report. Nevertheless, Silicon Valley continues to stand out because it is a center for technical innovation. It's unlikely, though, that it will be immune from a recession or the subprime mortgage crisis.

For more on Silicon Valley job loss:
- See The New York Times article