LAEDC Report: High Tech Employment Key Driver in LA Economy
Los Angeles (PRWEB) October 06, 2014 -- Mayor Eric Garcetti today kicked-off the inaugural Los Angeles Innovation Week by announcing the release of the report “High Tech in LA”, the first report to quantify the employment and economic contribution of LA County’s growing high tech sector. Los Angeles County has more high tech sector jobs (368,600) than Boston-Cambridge (361,400), Santa Clara County (313,300), and New York City, including all five boroughs (234,400). The report is authored by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) Institute for Applied Economics, with the generous support of JPMorgan Chase & Co.
“Los Angeles’ tech industry is now as critical to our economy as our manufacturing and entertainment sectors—and we are outperforming New York, Boston, and Santa Clara County, in the heart of Silicon Valley,” said Mayor Garcetti. “If we want to keep it that way, we must ensure our workforce and our students are prepared."
To further demonstrate LA’s leadership role in the tech and innovation ecosystem, the LAEDC along with the City and County of Los Angeles and many private and public sector partners from across the region, commenced a week-long schedule of events celebrating “Los Angeles Innovation Week” with a kick-off press conference on October 6 at 10:00 a.m. at the state-of-the-art offices of Oblong Industries at 923 E 3rd St in Downtown Los Angeles.
“This watershed study puts the exclamation point on what we already knew anecdotally but hadn’t yet quantified about L.A.’s high tech and innovation revolution. Namely, LA is innovating and applying technology at an unprecedented rate to create thousands of new, well-paying high tech sector jobs and to transform its leading industries, such as entertainment, health services, aerospace and manufacturing,” said Bill Allen, president & CEO of the LAEDC.
During Los Angeles’ inaugural “Innovation Week,” high tech-related businesses and organizations across the LA region will open their doors to showcase the depth and breadth of creativity and innovation that is infused within the fabric of LA’s economy, from digital media to space commercialization, from biomedical to advanced transportation, and more. The week-long celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship was created with the idea to highlight, encourage and stimulate advancements in industries from cleantech to gaming, aerospace to emerging digital media and STEAM education.
More than 30 events will be held throughout the week, celebrating and highlighting the many companies and institutions that are the driving force behind Los Angeles’ innovation economy. Events include panels, showcases, demonstrations, workshops and mixers. A full list of events can be found here, which include these highlights:
● October 6, 7:30 a.m. & October 7, 8:30 a.m. – GloSho cleantech showcase will provide informative presentations on world markets, and allow attendees to meet policy makers who are shaping global strategy, and learn about the latest breakthrough technologies in energy, water, infrastructure, mobility, and more.
● October 8, 6:00 p.m. – Gensler Los Angeles will host a moderated panel discussion and series of curated installations that consider the planning, speculation, and visualization of thoughtful urban growth in Downtown LA.
● October 8, 3:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.- WhizGirls Academy Hackathon will host Dream Up Solutions to Better LA, Los Angeles Public Library, Vernon Branch
● October 9, 9:00 a.m. TechOut LA is an interactive conference that celebrates tech's bright future and the innovators who will usher it in.
● October 9, 6:00 p.m. – SiliconBeach Young Professionals will present a mixer and panel “How to Start Your Startup”, sponsored by Google.
● October 10-12 - IndieCade, is a conference focused on the independent game development industry and the future of independent games.
● October 11, 9:00 a.m. – JPL Open House is a family friendly event where visitors can travel through space and experience a life-size model of Mars Science Laboratory and demonstrations from numerous space missions.
About the LAEDC
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), the region’s premier economic development leadership organization, is a private, non-profit organization established in 1981 under section 501(c)(3). Its mission is to attract, retain, and grow business and jobs for the regions of Los Angeles County and chart a course for future prosperity for our region. Since 1996, the LAEDC has helped to retain or attract over 198,000 annual jobs in LA County. Learn more and get involved at http://www.laedc.org. Read the new LAEDC report, High Tech in LA.
About Oblong Industries
Born in Academia. Pulled into Hollywood. Now a commercial reality. Oblong Industries was founded by Dr. John Underkoffler, who envisioned the future of workplaces for films such as Minority Report and Iron Man based on his foundational work at the MIT Media Lab. That sci-fi fiction is now a reality in Mezzanine™—a collaborative conference room solution that seamlessly blends physical and digital environments across distributed locations. With headquarters in Los Angeles, CA, and ten offices around the globe, Oblong’s customers include IBM, Boeing, Saudi Aramco, Sonos, GE, SAP and NTT. Learn more at http://www.oblong.com, connect via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+.
About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of consumers in the United States and many of the world's most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at http://www.jpmorganchase.com.
For press inquiries about Los Angeles Innovation Week, contact:
Karen Sorenson
Karen(at)PMBCGroup(dot)com
310.777.7546
For press inquiries about the LAEDC report, “High Tech in LA,” contact
Lawren Markle
Lawren.Markle(at)LAEDC(dot)org
213.236.4847
For information on the Mayor’s participation, contact:
Communications Office of Mayor Eric Garcetti
213.978.0741
Lawren Markle, Economic Development Corp of LA, http://www.LAEDC.org, +1 626-773-2325, [email protected]
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