Australian tech dreamers needn’t jet off to Silicon Valley. According to a new report, growth in the local tech sector has outpaced that in the US and the UK over the past six years.

The number of Australian jobs in computer systems design, which includes programming and software development, has grown by 38 per cent since 2008, when the dawn of the smartphone era revved up the industry.

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By contrast, jobs grew by 22.2 per cent in the US and 10.1 per cent in the UK over the same period.

‘‘That’s pretty darn good,’’ said author Dr Michael Mandel from US think tank the Progressive Policy Institute. ‘‘It was a big surprise.’’