Only five other states have fewer technology jobs than Hawai'i, according to a report by the American Electronics Association scheduled for release today.

Hawai'i ranked 47th among the states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in tech jobs with about 13,500 positions. It was the sixth year in a row Hawai'i ranked 47th on the annual survey. By comparison, Hawai'i was ranked 41st among the 50 states in population in 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

"Hawai'i has made some great steps, but we still have some growing to do," said Hawaii Biotech Chief Executive David Watumull.

The good news for Hawai'i's fledgling technology industry is that the sector's average wage of $61,216 ranks in the middle of all states, according to the AEA survey. Hawai'i ranked 27th out of 52 areas surveyed in terms of annual wage.

Since 2000, the state has tried to entice high tech companies by offering tax credits. The state has allowed more than $110 million in tax credits and could be tagged with another $60 million in yet-unclaimed credits.

Watumull said those credits were critical to the growth of the industry in Hawai'i.

Since 1999 Hawai'i's tech employment rose 11 percent to 13,497 in 2004. During that period, which included the bursting of the Internet bubble, the number of tech jobs nationwide fell 10 percent.

"I would think that we would have had that ripple effect (from the tech bubble) if we didn't have the incentives here," Watumull said.

Hawai'i missed the boom and bust partly because the state really doesn't have the types of high-tech manufacturing jobs that have been hit hard by layoffs on the Mainland.

Despite the industry's growth, tech employment remains small at just 2.5 percent of the state's workforce.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.