High Technology

Annual Employment in Technology-related Sectors

The two sectors that are most closely related to high technology are: professional, scientific and technical services; and information, culture and recreation. Together these two technology-related sectors have increased employment by 38% in Greater Victoria since 2003, which was much faster growth than either BC or Metro Vancouver. The graph shows that most of this growth has been concentrated in professional, scientific and technical services.

Greater Victoria Employment

Annual employment data by sector is from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey (LFS). Because it is based on a survey, the results include sampling error and may vary somewhat year to year due to random variations as opposed to real changes in annual sector employment.

Caution is therefore advised for interpreting changes on a year over year basis. Sustained trends over longer time periods are considerably more valid.

Employment in

High Technology-related Sectors* (000)

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Growth, 07-08

Growth 03-08

BC

248

261.1

275.7

280.8

284.1

292.1

3%

18%

Greater Victoria

18.2

20.6

21.4

20.8

21.3

25.2

18%

38%

Metro Vancouver

167.4

173.5

181.2

182.3

192.8

189.9

-2%

13%

*Employment data is for the sum of Professional, Scientific & Technical Services and Information, Culture & Recreation. Significant parts of each of these sectors are included in the BC Stats definition of High Technology.

Source: Statistics Canada Labour Force Survey. Reported by BC Stats.

Revenue and Employment for Top 25 High Technology Companies

Revenue and employment have both had strong growth among Greater Victoria's top 25 technology companies. The only reason that revenues declined and employed stayed flat in 2008 is that Aspreva Pharmaceuticals was acquired and revenues were reallocated by their new parent company.

Apart from Aspreva, the incumbent companies on the list demonstrated growth of more than $100 million in revenue in 2008.

The VIATeC 25 are the 25 largest technology companies, by revenue, that are headquartered in Greater Victoria. Revenue and full-time employment data on each company is collected through an annual survey by VIATeC (Vancouver Island Advanced Technology Centre).

Full-time employment does not include contractors. Revenues are estimated based on 49 weeks of the year as results are released in December each year.

VIATeC 25 Revenues and Employment

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Growth 07-08

Growth 04-08

Total Revenues ($000)

$367,032

$563,595

$794,473

$866,087

$762,871

-12%

108%

Full-time Employment

1,723

2,334

2,441

2,474

2,468

0%

43%
Source: VIATeC 25 Annual Survey.

High Technology Establishments

Greater Victoria was home to nearly 900 high technology establishments in 2007, a decline of 8% from 2006. The number of technology establishments declined throughout the province (due in part to consolidation in the sector, according to the BC Stats report cited below).

Greater Victoria's share of total high technology establishments in the province has been relatively constant in the range of 10.2-10.5% for the last few years.

The estimated number of establishments provides an indication of the number of companies operating in the high technology sector (as defined by BC Stats).

An establishment is the smallest administrative unit that reports certain financial data. They may be independent or multiple establishments may exist within a single firm. Only establishments with employees are counted by BC Stats.

High Technology Establishments (with Employees)

2004

2005

2006

2007

Growth 06-07

Growth 04-07

BC

8,369

8,748

9,206

8,573

-7%

2%

Greater Victoria

854

919

964

886

-8%

4%

Metro Vancouver

5,400

5,605

5,925

5,496

-7%

2%

Greater Victoria Share of BC

10.2%

10.5%

10.5%

10.3%

-0.1 pp

0.1 pp
Source: BC Stats Profile of the BC High Technology Sector, 2008 Edition