New Report Finds Tech and E-Commerce Sectors Are a Powerful Engine for Local Resilience

As concerns about a slowing economy mount, a new report highlights counties where the tech, information, and e-commerce (TIE) sector is driving growth.

Titled “The 2025 PPI Tech/Info/E-Commerce (TIE) Job Index: Fighting Recession on the Local Level,” by PPI Vice President and Chief Economist Michael Mandel, the report identifies the top U.S. counties by their ability to create new TIE jobs relative to overall employment.

The findings suggest that regions with a strong TIE presence are not only generating high-paying jobs more rapidly, but also fueling broader economic expansion.

“These findings show that investment in TIE industries can catalyze inclusive economic gains across a wide range of communities,” said Mandel.

The report arrives at a critical moment as sloppy budget cuts, tariff uncertainty, and tighter immigration policies could lead to a recession in the near future. The continued expansion of AI, cloud computing, and e-commerce logistics — all TIE industries — provides a potential counterweight to potential economic turmoil.

Key findings from the report include:

TIE sector employment has grown 18% nationally since 2019, more than four times the rate of other private-sector jobs.

Average weekly pay in TIE industries is 47% higher than in the broader private sector.

The top 25 counties on PPI’s TIE Index achieved a median 5.8% increase in non-TIE private sector jobs from 2019 to 2023, compared to just 0.3% for other large and medium counties.

Top performers include San Joaquin County, California; Collin County, Texas; and Somerset County, New Jersey.

PPI’s TIE Job Index, an evolution of its Tech/Info Job Index, combines employment growth with sector size to rank county-level performance. It reveals strong correlations between robust TIE ecosystems and overall job creation — even outside traditional tech hubs.

“While we don’t claim causation, the link is striking,” said Mandel.

“Counties with strong TIE sectors tend to grow faster not just in high-wage tech jobs, but across the board.”

Read the full report here.