Report: Auto Industry Bolsters Tech Jobs In Southern Cities

The auto industry is spurring some of the fastest tech job growth in the U.S. β€” and in some places not usually associated with the sector.

A newly released report finds that the auto industry is spurring some of the fastest tech job growth in the U.S. β€” and in some places not normally associated with the tech sector.

The Brookings Institution reported that the Nashville, Tenn., and Jackson, Miss., metro areas joined the Bay Area as the fastest growing "advanced industry" job markets in the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal.

The analysis, which tracked job growth in sectors reliant on STEM skills β€” science, technology, engineering or math β€” among the nation's 100 largest metro areas, said that a sizeable chunk of the new positions in the two southern cities were related to the automotive sector.

Nashville, which is near General Motors and Nissan plants, saw high tech jobs grow by 8 percent between 2013 and 2015 to lead the nation.

In Jackson β€” near another Nissan plant β€” those jobs climbed by 7.6 percent during that span.

Other top-performing metro areas with strong ties to the auto industry included Kansas City at no. 5 and Toledo, Ohio, at no. 9. Detroit came in at no. 19.

Although San Francisco came in second according to the rate of tech job growth, its number of tech industry jobs dwarfed those of both Nashville and Jackson. Moreover, the Bay Area's tech jobs accounted for more than 15 percent of metro area employment β€” compared to less than 9 percent and 7 percent, respectively, in the southern cities.

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