Number of high-tech Jobs: 161,799

High-tech payroll: $13.3 billion

Average wage: $82,462

Area employers: Motorola, Boeing, Abbott Laboratories

Earlier this year, Crain's Chicago Business reported that for the second year in a row, Motorola (MOT) employees won't be getting raises. In 2009 the Windy City lost 5 percent of its tech jobs as some of its best-known companies continued to restructure and struggle amid plummeting sales. Many local tech companies specialize in computer systems design and related services, telecommunications services, and research and development, and they have been hit hard by increased competition and the general economic downturn. Still, the average local tech worker made 64 percent more than an employee in the private sector did last year.