MEMO: MISSOURI GROWING FAST IN INTERNET CONNECTIONS

Missouri is the 6th-fastest state in connecting to the Internet, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce report.

While the number of Missouri households owning a personal computer grew by nearly 11 percent between 1998 and 2000, the number of households connected to the Internet almost doubled, jumping more than 19 percent, to 43 percent. Among surrounding states, Missouri ranked third for households owning personal computer, and second for households with Internet access.

Recent Missouri Department of Economic Development research shows that in 1999, there were nearly 64,000 jobs in Missouri directly related to the information technology sector and 121,188 jobs that were related to that sector.