By Jaivon Grant

Many would agree that California is the center of the universe for technological innovation. The consumer technology that comes from Silicon Valley plays a significant role in our day-to-day lives. From getting up in the morning and getting to work, to the way we make friends and build relationships. The advancements in technology are also playing a unique role in an unexpected way — on our economy.

A new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and funded by the Consumer Technology Association shows just had important the tech sector is to the overall economic wellness of our state:

“In 2017, consumer technology content and services, manufacturing and distribution directly and indirectly supported at least 100,000 jobs in 34 states and nine congressional districts. California alone had over three million jobs directly and indirectly attributable to consumer tech; and Texas, Florida and New York each had over one million jobs attributable to consumer tech, many of which derive from consumer tech exports.”

California alone had over 3 million jobs that are supported by the consumer technology sector. The economic contribution of the industry is also largest in California and we are also leading the nation in the state employment created by the tech industry.

In fact, the industry in California makes up 18.6% of the state’s total gross domestic product and in 2017, provided over $290 million in wages and $514 million in economic output. These numbers demonstrate clearly the major impactful that technology jobs have in our state.

Digging deeper into the CTA report, you will find that the highest concentration of jobs that are supported by the tech sector is found in the 17th Congressional District, which encompasses most of Silicon Valley. This congressional district alone has over 151,000 jobs supported by consumer technology. There are also four other congressional districts where the tech sector has created over 100,000 jobs (CA-12, CA-18, CA-30, CA-33).

These results of this survey show just how critical the consumer technology sector is to not only the innovations that improve our quality of life, but also to economic growth across California and the U.S. California is leading the nation in consumer tech employment, and the economic impact is clear and vital to our state.

Jaivon Grant is a political commentator and former writer for OurWeekly Los Angeles.