NEW YORK CITY—The technology sector in New York City grew by a robust 5.1% this past year, according to a report released by Jones Lang LaSalle.

The tech sector's growth from January 2013 to January 2014 was only surpassed by the retail sector in New York City. The brokerage firm also notes that tech real estate activity in 2014 has been strong with six technology lease deals over 50,000 square feet being signed. During the first two months of 2013, only one lease of more than 50,000 square feet was reported.

Jones Lang LaSalle reports that after a record January 2014 with a number of large lease transactions, activity fell in February with just four leases larger than 25,000 square feet being signed. However, the report states that tech sector lease deals for the first two months of the year total more than 1 million square feet, which computes to 192% more square footage leased than the first quarter of 2013. The average tech lease deal so far this year totals 28,720 square feet.

In another good sign for continued growth in the tech sector, JLL states, “From 2011 to 2013, tech employment increased by nearly 25%. Over this same time period, large tech deals increased by almost 50%. This indicates that as employment continues to grow, tech companies are leasing more and more space.”

According to the report, some major tech players are in the market for space, including: Google (360,000 square feet); Amazon (300,000 square feet); and Etsy.com, Usablenet and Uber, which are each on the market for 100,000 square feet of space.