Minnesota's medical technology industry employs more people per capita than any other state, according to a new economic study by a national medical technology trade group.
The report (
PDF), authored by The Lewin Group and released last week by
AdvaMed, says med-tech accounts for 1.06 percent of Minnesota's employment (the next highest per capita figures come from Utah and Delaware). It estimates the total number of med-tech jobs in Minnesota at 26,862, placing it second behind California and ahead of Massachusetts.
"Minnesota has long had a strong network of academic, industry, and government assets working together to support our life-science ecosystem,"
LifeScience Alley President/CEO Don Gerhardt said in an e-mail statement. LifeScience Alley is the local trade association for life science companies.
Gerhardt said the numbers in AdvaMed's report aren't surprising, and if anything they under-count the number of med-tech jobs in Minnesota. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development estimates Minnesota has around 35,000 med-tech jobs.
One explanation for the accounting gap: The data used in the AdvaMed report misses jobs at med-tech suppliers, such as Phillips Plastics, that don't operate exclusively in med-tech.
Sources: AdvaMed, LifeScience Alley
Writer:
Dan Haugen