Information technology & Economy
The Information Technology (IT) Industry Association just released a report that measures the economic impact of the IT industry on the U.S. and global economies. The report, entitled “IT and the Global Economy,” finds that IT is the fastest growing and most important for propelling economic growth both in the U.S. and globally.
The report also raises the important of technology education in a global economy. It found that countries with strong focus on IT education have experienced significant economic growth than countries without it. For example, India and Brazil both have strong IT education focus have experienced almost no impact of the global economic crisis. China, a “Slow arrival” on IT education has experienced tremendous economic impact. Its strength in manufacturing cannot help as it is depending on others' economies to consume its products. Chinese government has to spend a lot of its reserved money to save its economy from the crisis.
The report states that the high-growth potential of information technology companies, along with their leading role in the digital revolution has transformed all sectors of society. The IT industry will continue to push the U.S. economy forward faster than other economy. For example, Apple is becoming the largest and fastest growing company in the world, bigger than many oil companies. By comparison, it also found that profit of IT companies is even higher than oil companies as evidence that twenty years ago more than half of billionaires in the world was in oil business but today two third of them are in IT business. The report reveals that the rate of growth of IT industry is significantly outpacing that of the U.S. economy as a whole. Recent growth of 16.8% compared to 3.2% GDP growth helps sustain the overall U.S economy in the financial crisis. IT industry also generates millions of jobs for the U.S and employ more than 4.8 million Americans IT workers. However, the report found that each IT job creates a multiplier effect of 8 for supporting job. It means IT industry indirectly creates approx. additional 38 million supporting jobs. Most IT jobs are high-wage jobs and IT workers earning are among the highest in the country. The annual average wage paid is reaching $175,000, and recent IT graduates can start from $85,000 to $102,000, much higher than college graduates from other fields.
With globalization, IT companies have been successfully around the world. Many U.S IT companies are world leaders, selling products and services in global markets with strong sales and revenue growth. U.S. IT direct sales reached $260 billion in 2011. Currently IT market is valued at $3 trillion but it is projected to grow to approximately $6 trillion in 2015. It is clear from these data that technology is pushing an unprecedented level of innovation and growth, providing significant new opportunities for IT companies and workers all over the world.
Sources
- Blogs of Prof. John Vu, Carnegie Mellon University
