Changes

The source of the data for these claims and Figure 1 is "JobsEQ": https://www.chmura.com/software. The figure shows an annual average growth rate of technology firms of 5% (compounding to 60% over ten years), which is strong, particularly for a state like Vermont, but not impossible. The scaling of the axis makes it look more dramatic. I originally thought that this was "not impossible" (though obviously very suspicious) based on state-level growth rates for venture-backed startups. However, the 'Relative Growth' analysis below clarifies that this is well outside the bounds of possibility at the state level for the technology sector as a whole for any prolonged period. It also confirms the stylized fact that the number of technology firms declined for the US as a whole over this period.

[[File:RelativeTechnologyEmployment_Vermont.PNG|right|500px]] It is also interesting to look at Vermont's relative growth in technology establishments and employment:

[[File:RelativeTechnologyEstablishments_Vermont.PNG|right|500px]] I processed the data so that each state's establishments and employment are relative to their year 2000 levels. The establishments' data makes it clear that the Vermont Science and Technology Plan's numbers are patently absurd. They show Vermont with a growth rate of 59% from 2010 to 2020, which is more than 2.6 times the fastest growth rate achieved by the fastest-growing state (Delaware) over the same period.  Vermont's actual establishments' growth rate was -4% for this period (ranking 28th), which was below the median (-3%) and well below the mean (-2%). Vermont's technology sector employment trends are even worse. Technology sector employment in Vermont was more than a quarter lower in 2020 than it was in 2000, and Vermont's twenty-year growth rate ranks 44th.