The loss of jobs in the US high-technology industry following the bursting of the internet bubble in 2000 began to slow last year.

A total of 25,000 jobs were shed in 2004. The American Electronics Association, representing about 2,500 technology companies employing a total of 1.8m people, said the loss represented a considerable slowdown compared to the 333,000 jobs lost in 2003 and the 612,000 in 2002.