The Commerce Dept. said information technology (IT) was helping l...
The Commerce Dept. said information technology (IT) was helping lead a revitalizing economy, but the lagging telecom sector continued to trail. In releasing its “Digital Economy 2003” report Tues., Undersecy. of Technology Philip Bond said growth in the macro-economic…
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sector was driven by IT spending. He said the report showed “promising signs for the tech sector.” Undersecy. of Economic Affairs Kathleen Cooper said that after “two tough years, we are seeing signs of renewed strength.” Of the 2.9% of “real U.S. economic growth” predicted for 2003, IT-producing industries were expected to contribute 0.8 percentage points, said the report, based on data through the 3rd quarter. IT industries are expected to supply 8% of gross domestic product (GDP), the report said, and the growth rate of the IT sector is estimated at 6.4%. Performance varied by IT sector, and the struggling telecom sector continued to lag. While IT service industries and computer and semiconductor manufacturers were rebounding from their moderate pace in the early 2000s, communications and other telecom equipment manufacturers were continuing to fight for sales, the report said. IT unemployment continued to remain a problem. Since 2000, the sector has lost 11.2% of its jobs, compared with 2% of the overall economy. IT job loss, originally concentrated in manufacturing and low-skill positions, has spread to almost all levels. One growing problem -- IT outsourcing to other countries -- isn’t tracked in the report. Cooper said Commerce was working on developing better statistics on outsourcing and probably would work more closely with the Labor Dept. to determine how it was affecting the IT economy.