Can Idaho and Washington pick up the tech-job creation pace?

With all the attention on technology and job-creation in last night’s State of the  Union  address by President Obama, Office Hours wonders if Washington and Idaho are primed to be key contributors in that effort.

Certainly both have unemployment rates that are stubbornly stuck close to the national average, or above.

We looked to the most recent issue of the Milken Institute’s 2010 State Technology and Science Index to see how it ranked Washington and Idaho. The index, which has been compiled since 2002. (The rankings did not occur in 2009.)

Washington, ranked 5th in 2008, slid to 6th in the 2010 index. That mostly looks to be the result of a strong gain by Utah, which moved up to 5th.

Idaho, notably, stayed exactly where it was: 27th in both 2008 and 2010.

For the full STSI, go to this PDF link (free signup at Milken required.)