Washington's high-tech industry added 4,500 jobs for a total of 156,500 in 2005, and the average worker made $83,700, according to the most current data available from the AeA, a national technology trade association.

The AeA, which has 2,500 member companies from all segments of the high-tech industry, released its 10th anniversary "Cyberstates" report detailing national and state trends in high-tech employment, wages, and other key economic factors.

The report, "Cyberstates 2007: A Complete State-by-State Overview of the High-Technology Industry," covers all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

It found that Washington's largest and fastest growing sector remains software publishing, which grew by 2,100 net jobs in 2005 for a total of 41,100 jobs. In this sector, Washington ranks second, trailing California.

Other sectors that experienced significant growth here in 2005 included Internet services, which gained more than 1,000 jobs, and engineering services and computer systems design, which both gained more than 900 jobs.

David Anastasi, president and CEO of Bellevue-based Captaris, said in the release:

"Washington's tech industry remains vibrant and growing. Many people are aware that our software industry is one of the Evergreen State's greatest strengths, but they may not realize how fast it continues to grow. And they may not realize that several other service sectors are growing or that a broad set of investors continue to find Washington an attractive place to invest their capital."

Here are other Washington highlights from the report:

-- Washington has 156,500 high-tech workers.

-- 4,500 jobs were added from 2004 to 2005.

-- High-tech firms employed 69 of every 1,000 private sector workers in 2005.

-- High-tech workers made an average of $83,700 a year, or 108 percent more than Washington's average private sector wage.

-- There were 6,800 high-tech establishments in 2005.

-- R&D expenditures reached $10.9 billion in 2004.

Based on those findings, Washington ranks high in a number of categories:

-- Second in software publishing employment with 41,100 jobs.

-- Eighth in electromedical equipment manufacturing employment with 3,500 jobs.

-- Twelfth in research and development and testing labs with 19,400 jobs.

More information can be found at AeA's Web site.