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Looking for opportunity, growth and job security? Consider getting familiar with one of these. New Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that New Jersey has been outpacing the rest of the country in the availability of tech job openings.

(Digital Vision)

Judging from job openings, New Jersey’s technology sector has grown enough to put the state in the same league as California, Texas, Virginia and New York, according to recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

"We’re all a little surprised," said Scot Melland, CEO of Dice, "but I guess we shouldn’t be."

The Iowa-based job listings company owns Dice.com, a well-known destination that’s connected a lot of tech talent to paychecks in Silicon Valley, Texas and Mahattan, usually sounds unfamiliar to New Jersey ears, said Melland, but that might soon change.

New Jersey tech jobs that the BLS categorizes as "computer systems design and related services" have grown 5.2 percent since December. The state added 3,600 new tech jobs by through June, according to the bureau's data.

As of yesterday, Dice had more than 4,900 jobs posted by New Jersey companies or firms with offices here.

The growing availability of tech positions in the state has outpaced that of several East Coast neighbors, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts — all of which earned spots on a top 10 list compiled by Dice.

Melland expects to see more companies list tech jobs in New Jersey going forward because expensive downtown offices have started to lose their appeal in the startup community.

These 10 states saw the biggest year-to-year increases in openings in the technology field from August 2012 to August 2013.

"I think the argument could be made that parts of Westchester County in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut have an advantage being close to New York City, tapping its talent pool and having a much lower cost of living," Melland said. "Now in New Jersey, a company like TD Ameritrade has 22 positions listed on Dice for a Jersey City location. They’re essentially trying to tap into talent pools in Manhattan and Northern New Jersey."

The growth, he added, has a lot to do with how the New Jersey Economic Development Authority attracts certain industries into the state.

The NJEDA has articulated its interest in making low-interest financing — like loans, bonds and loan guarantees — available to small and mid-size businesses that hire tech workers.

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development categorizes technology as a "cluster," comprised of companies in the utilities, manufacturing, information and professional, scientific and technical service sectors, said spokesman Brian Murray.

In 2007, employment in technology took a tumble, shedding 33,000 jobs by 2011, according to the most recent labor department data available. At nearly 312,000 jobs, however, technology still accounted for about 8 percent of the statewide workforce that year, according to the most recent data.

One in five New Jersey tech workers had titles like computer analyst, engineer or programmer in 2011. That year, the average tech employee earned $103,215 — or 81 percent above than the statewide average.

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