There may not be much to cheer about in the economy as a whole, but technology remains one rare bright spot. Here are a few factoids that help make that case.
- All that online socializing does more than keep us up-to-date on our friends’ favorite pet causes. A study from the University of Maryland, released last month, found that the so-called “Facebook App Economy has added at least 182,000 new jobs and contributed more than $12.19 billion in wages and benefits to the U.S. economy this year.” [TechCrunch]
- Last year, New York City’s tech employment finally outstripped its previous record in 2000, during the first tech boom: there were 47,300 people employed in technology in 2010, as opposed to 45,000 a decade before.
- New York has nearly outrun Boston as the #2 destination for venture capital investment (Silicon Valley still holds a commanding lead for first place, although that doesn’t mean that NYC won’t keep trying).
- Recruiters have done a 180 from the doldrums they were in just a year or two ago: some of them can now be seen going after software developers and other techies with a devotion that borders on the stalkerish.
