Silicon Valley is in danger of creating its own digital divide. It is losing its middle-class work force at a significant rate, according to an annual report that tracks the economic, social and environmental health of the region. The 2008 Index of Silicon Valley found that from 2002 to 2006, middle-wage jobs fell to 46% of the work force, from 52%.

At the same time, while the percentage of higher-end jobs rose from 26 to 27%, lower-wage jobs expanded to 27 percent, from 22 percent of the work force. In all, more than 50,000 middle-income jobs have disappeared over the four years measured by the study. The vanishing jobs, which paid between $30k and $80k, represent workers who had been in the lower part of the white-collar pyramid, including secretaries, clerks and customer support representatives.

Read (The New York Times)