NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Job losses in the once booming Silicon Valley have slowed to about half of their rate a year ago, a published report said Monday.

The number of jobs lost from the second half of 2002 to the second half of 2003 slipped to a rate of 5 percent, the latest annual report from non-profit group Joint Venture Silicon Valley showed, according to a New York Times report.

Anecdotal evidence since mid-2003 has encouraged leaders in Silicon Valley to believe that job loss has slowed considerably, and that increases in technology spending could be around the corner, helping to reverse the losses, the report said.

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Biotechnology companies in the Valley lost the fewest jobs, and could be an area that sees fast growth, the Times said.

Silicon Valley lost approximately 202,000 jobs by the second quarter 2003, from its height of 1.38 million in the second quarter 2001, according to the report.

Average pay, which is 60 percent higher than the national average, slid to $62,400 in the second quarter of 2003 from its peak of $81,700 in 2000, according to the newspaper.