TALLAHASSEE (970 WFLA) -- A technology industry's annual survey comparing the states by the size and clout of their tech sectors, says one of the fastest growing sectors in the 50 states is in Florida.
In its "Cyberstates 2018" analysis, the industry group CompTIA says Florida added more than 12,000 tech jobs last year, trailing only California, Texas and Michigan. It contributes more than $63 billion to the state's economy, making Florida sixth among the states. And in a crucial ranking, innovation, Florida jumped from #23 all the way to second place, trailing only California.
CompTIA corporate communications director Steven Ostrowski says Florida's innovation score is based on numbers of new patents, startups and new tech business. In that last category Florida ranks second behind Illinois.
Ostrowski says Florida excels in another category, seeing a 64.5 percent increase between 2016 and 2017 in job postings related to emerging technologies, such as drones, smart cities, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and blockchain. The latter refers to the technology behind Bitcoin.
Ostrowski says Orlando is a leader in the smart cities movement, trying to implement technology to improve urban life.