Bloomberg, Google Join Forces at Republican National Convention

Highest Job Growth Outside of Traditional Tech Corridors; North Carolina, Ohio and Wisconsin Home to Top 10 Metro Areas with Job Growth

TAMPA BAY, FL — Google and Bloomberg LP joined forces at the Republican National Convention in Tampa for a series of discussions on innovation, the Internet and American job growth. A similar series will be held in Charlotte at the Democratic National Convention next week.

At a Bloomberg / Google breakfast, a new study was released by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute (BACEI) and Engine Advocacy that found that technology industries are fueling job growth across the country. According to the study, the high tech sector accounts for 9.2 million jobs and approximately 5.6% of U.S. jobs.

In many cases, the growth is happening outside the established tech hubs on the East and West coast. The study said metro areas including Greensboro-High Point, NC, Dayton, OH and Kenosha County, WI saw increases of private high-tech employment greater than 10 percent in 2011, outpacing job growth in the private sector.

The BACEI study found high-tech startup employment held relatively steady during the economic downturn while new businesses across the economy did not. The report, online at www.engine.is, is accompanied by an online interactive map that provides a county-by-county breakdown of high-tech jobs as a percentage of total jobs.

“New businesses built on the Internet and high-tech are critical to spurring sustainable job growth,” said Robert Littan, director of research for Bloomberg Government and co-author of Better Capitalism, to be published by Yale Press in late September. “It should be the highest priority of the next president and congress to accelerate new business, and especially tech businesses and startups.”

“The high-tech sector and Internet-based companies are an engine of American job growth. The industry has experienced significant growth year over year, and the vast majority of these jobs relate to the Internet,” said Susan Molinari, Google Vice President of Public Policy. “Our top priority needs to be unleashing startups and high-tech jobs — and reducing barriers that stifle innovation.”

A panel discussion at the Bloomberg / Google breakfast, moderated by Bloomberg TV anchor Trish Regan, included Rep. Peter Roskam (Illinois), Chief Deputy Whip, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President of American Action Forum, Carlos Gutierrez, Former Secretary of Commerce and Mary Fallin, Governor of Oklahoma who discussed the growth of the Internet and its effect on employment.

A Bloomberg / Google lunch on the innovation economy, moderated by Bloomberg Businessweek editor Josh Tyrangiel, will include Rep. Kevin McCarthy (California), Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan, Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist and Charlie Black, Chairman of Prime Policy Group.

Livestreams of all Bloomberg Link events are available at www.bloomberg.com/live-stream and on Bloomberg’s YouTube Channel.

Follow news from the Bloomberg Link convention headquarters at #RNCLink and follow Google’s events at the conventions at #GooglePolitics.

Contact for Bloomberg:

Ty Trippet, +1.646.322.4299, ttrippet@bloomberg.net

Meredith Balenske, +1.202.680.2479, mbalenske@bloomberg.net