Workers who graduate from Wisconsin technical colleges help stimulate economic activity for their communities, according to a report released Friday by the Madison Area Technical College.

According to the annual MATC employment report, 96 percent of students who have entered the labor market from the class of 2005-06 are employed in Wisconsin, including 81 percent in the greater Madison area.

In addition, 93 percent of MATC graduates are currently employed, with 70 percent of those students holding a position relevant to their field of study.

The report surveyed two-thirds of graduates from last year — about 2,000 former students — who provided information six months following graduation.

"The benefit to Wisconsin of having 96 percent of MATC graduates working in state is the taxpayers' investment is repaid," said Bill Graf, communications coordinator for MATC. "The investment is repaid in the form of higher wages and economic activity of the community."

Graf said the fact that MATC graduates stay in the area helps many communities locally and throughout 12 counties in south central Wisconsin.

"We have the opposite of a 'brain drain,'" Bettsey Barhorst, president of MATC, said in a statement. "The taxpayer's investment in MATC is repaid right here at home. Our graduates stay close to their communities to make a living, earning higher wages than they would without their MATC degrees."

The report also found MATC graduates from the nursing, dental hygienist, industrial maintenance, IT web analyst/programmer and respiratory care programs earned an average salary above the national average for two-year associate graduates — $40,000 compared to $32,730.

"Students who graduate with two-year associate's degrees will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars more during their working years than those with only a high school diploma," Barhorst said in a statement. "Their higher earning power gives a tremendous economic boost to the communities where MATC graduates live and work."

Citing a 2006 Center on Wisconsin Strategy report, she said Wisconsin workers with associate degrees also earn approximately $4 more per hour than their peers with high school diplomas.

Bill Ihlenfeldt, president of Chippewa Valley Technical College, said 70 percent of the graduates hold jobs within the CVTC area.

CVTC graduates, Ihlenfeldt said, work in fields such as nursing, nanotechnology and manufacturing, which all help stimulate Wisconsin's economy.

"We gear up to the needs of the industry in the area," Ihlenfeldt said. "Technology, manufacturing and health are the primary targets that are fueling the workforce."