The information industry is on the rise in many parts of the country and is creating many Connecticut jobs.

There are about 35,036 information-related jobs in Connecticut, according to an article by the Connecticut Department of Labor. The average annual wage for a worker in this industry is $80,576 per year.

The top five sectors, which make up 62.4 percent of the industry, include: computer systems design services, custom computer programming services, data processing and related services, computer facilities management services and computer and software stores.

The top occupations within the industry include:

• wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives at 4,127 jobs and an annual wage of $70,590
• computer software and applications engineers at 3,045 jobs and an annual wage of $74,820
• computer programmers at 3,041 jobs and an annual wage of $72,520
• computer systems analysts at 2,089 jobs and an annual wage of $70,650
• computer support specialists at 1,995 jobs and an annual wage of $45,700
• technology and scientific products sales representatives at 1,906 jobs and an annual wage of $79,750
• general and operations managers at 1,253 jobs and an annual wage of $125,150
• computer and systems software engineers at 1,130 jobs and an annual wage of $77,590
• customer service representatives at 1,123 jobs and an annual wage of $32,870
• electrical and electronic equipment assemblers at 1,008 jobs and an annual wage of $26,900

The fastest growing occupations within the information industry through 2012 include:

• network systems and data communications analysts with 28 annual openings
• computer software and systems software engineers with 72 annual openings
• surveying and mapping technicians with six annual openings
• computer systems analysts with 116 annual openings
• database administrators with 39 annual openings
• management analysts with 21 annual openings
• computer and information systems managers with 57 annual openings
• computer software and applications engineers with 153 annual openings
• all other computer specialists with 21 annual openings
• network and computer systems administrators with 37 annual openings

The goal of Connecticut’s software and information technology industry is to strengthen the Internet, e-commerce and software companies in the state. The industry includes companies that supply, manufacture, utilize and distribute software, telecommunications infrastructure, networking hardware and Internet-only related commerce.

“Internet-only related commerce does not include brick and-mortar companies that have the option of purchasing items through an on-line Web site,” the article notes. “This only includes such companies as e-Bay or Amazon.com, for those brick-and-mortar institutions are most likely classified in separate industries, and to count them as being a part of this cluster would be to highly overestimate the true employment situation.