As automation and computerized information systems make many secretarial and other back-office positions obsolete, large office work areas filled with rows of secretaries, typists and clerks are fast becoming a thing of the past — more typical of “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” era than today’s high-tech office environment.

But despite the predictions by some workforce experts, high technology has not even begun to replace the need for office space in general. In fact, quite the opposite is true. The loss of administrative and clerical positions has been more than offset by an exponential growth of high-technology jobs that have helped to stimulate the technology economy to record levels. These are positions that were not even in existence until very recently, but they’re here today — and the good news is that workers filling those jobs need places to work.

Existing companies and established industries such as biotechnology and health care entities employ some of these new technology workers. Many of the new jobs, however, are with start-up, technology-based companies and even new industries — most notably e-commerce and high-tech communications.

This job growth has created a significant demand for technology-oriented jobs across our region’s old and new economies. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts that the three fastest-growing occupations between 1996 and 2006 will be computer- or technology-related: computer scientists, including database administrators and computer support specialists; computer engineers; and systems analysts. Job growth in these three occupational areas is expected to increase by at least 100 percent by 2006 — seven times the average growth rate being forecast for all occupations.

The rate at which these high-tech companies are sold to or merge with other companies also plays an important factor in the need for additional office space. These mergers are not done to shrink the operations of the affected entities. What results in many, if not most cases, is that the new entity’s scope of operations expands immediately, thereby creating an immediate demand for more office space.

Those same false prophets who warned that high technology would diminish the need for more workers also wrongly predicted that “low-technology” and technology-related companies alike would flee from downtown to lower-cost suburbs or even to other cities and communities.

I’ve said it before in this column, but it bears repeating: Our downtown office market is showing strong signs of becoming as much a high-tech corridor as other venues in our metropolitan area. Add a major league ballpark and 26 blocks of redevelopment to the East Village area and watch the trend grow even more in the coming years.

People — no-tech, low-tech, high-tech and otherwise — want to be where the action is. It just so happens that the high-tech firms and new industries are experiencing the high growth rates that result in added demand for office space. And downtown suits many of them just fine.

I am by no means an expert on infrastructure or the impacts all this will have on areas such as downtown that were built for a much smaller business community. But it’s easy to foresee that an expanded workforce in any one area will have significant impacts on the need for additional transportation, parking, restaurants, retail outlets and other support resources. Even the entertainment resources in an impacted area are affected.

Today, property and building owners in many cities stand at the doorway of a great opportunity to attract literally hundreds of tenants from newly formed companies and industries. That San Diego is the home to an increasing number of these high-tech companies brings the vision even closer to home.

Stay tuned.