SAN JOSE – Software for designing printed circuit boards and multichip modules rose 5.1% year-over-year in the first quarter, an industry trade group said today.

PCB and MCM sales reached $147.5 million, says the EDA Consortium. The four-quarters moving average for PCB & MCM increased 3.9%.

Overall electronic design automation industry revenue increased 6.3% for the first quarter year-over-year to $1.54 billion, says EDAC. Sequentially, revenue fell 9.6%, while the four-quarters moving average increased 13.4%.

“First quarter 2012 results showed continued growth for the EDA industry,” said Walden C. Rhines, board sponsor for the EDAC MSS and chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics. “Every major category except Services showed increased revenue, and every major region grew except Japan.”

Companies that were tracked employed 27,848 professionals in the first quarter of 2012, up 5.3% year-over-year, and up 0.8% sequentially.

The largest category, computer aided engineering, generated revenue of $564.8 million for the period, a 6.5% increase over the same quarter in 2011. The four-quarters moving average for CAE increased 11.9%.

IC physical design and verification revenue increased to $350.9 million, up 10.2% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average increased 15.7%.

Semiconductor IP revenue totaled $391.3 million, up 5.4% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average went up 18.5%.

Services revenue was $82.4 million, down 3.8% compared to the same period last year. The four-quarters moving average increased 9.3%.

The Americas, EDA’s largest region, purchased $661.5 million of EDA products and services in the first quarter, up 9.8% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average for the Americas increased 16.3%.

Revenue in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa was up 8.2% year-over-year on revenues of $261.7 million. The EMEA four-quarters moving average increased 10.9%.

First-quarter revenue from Japan decreased 11.1% to $262.4 million. The four-quarters moving average for Japan increased 0.2%.

Asia/Pacific region revenue increased to $351.3 million, up 14.4% compared to the first quarter in 2011. The four-quarters moving average increased 21.3%.