Report: Maine lags in technology jobs

PORTLAND – Maine moved up three notches but continues to lag behind other states in a new study that says Massachusetts and California are poised for the biggest economic gains.

The California-based Milken Institute’s report ranked the states according to criteria including venture capital, number of business startups and failures, and number of residents with doctorates.

Besides Massachusetts and California, the other top five performers were Colorado, Maryland and Virginia.

Maine ranked 33rd – up from 36th in 2002 – but lagged far behind other New England states. Neighboring New Hampshire ranked 12th and Vermont ranked 22nd. Connecticut was 10th and Rhode Island 11th.

The worst-performing states were Kentucky, Arkansas and Mississippi. Texas slid the most, from 14th place to 23rd.

Rob Koepp, research fellow and co-author of the study, said Maine lagged in the intensity of computer and information technology work force, which caused the state to rank 41st in that category.

The state lost workers in that key sector during the two years since the first report was issued in 2002, he said.

But the state improved in a number of areas, ranking fifth for percentage of recent bachelor degrees in science and engineering and first in the nation for funding rate for national science foundation proposals.

Maine’s first-in-the-nation program to put computers on the laps of seventh and eighth graders was not a factor in the survey because there was no specific category for students and computers, Koepp said.

But the state did do well in terms of homes with computers and homes with Internet access, 10th and 16th respectively, he said.

Koepp said the laptop program was probably a good idea. “It’s always beneficial to stimulate young minds to careers in science and computer technology,” he said.