Computers and the Internet have dramatically transformed the nation's economy in the last five years, significantly reducing inflation and creating 7.4 million high-paying jobs, according to a Commerce Department report released Wednesday.
The report marks the government's most comprehensive look to date at the growth of information technology, and puts a dollar figure on the myriad of advancements that have become a part of everyday life.
"Technology is reshaping this economy and transforming businesses and consumers," Commerce Secretary Bill Daley said. "This is about more than e-commerce, or e-mail, or e-trades, or e-files. It is about the 'e' in economic opportunity."
From word processing and automated inventory controls to supermarket scanners and online shopping, information technology has boosted productivity for businesses and convenience for consumers.
The high-tech industry today accounts for more than 8% of the national output of goods and services--more than $660 billion a year--with the computer and communications sectors growing twice as fast as the rest of the economy, the report notes.
The impact has been especially dramatic in California, home to Silicon Valley and the Tech Coast of Southern California.
"We are about 12% of the nation's economy, but about 25% of the high-tech industry, so it's twice as important to California as it is to the U.S. as a whole," said Ted Gibson, chief economist for the state Department of Finance.
Orange County has been a big beneficiary of the growth in information technology. A major share of the county's approximately 257,000 technology workers are in info-tech fields.
Communications and software have been the fastest-growing technology sectors in the county in the past several years, and salaries in those industries currently average about $55,000.
The Spectrum, the Irvine Co.'s high-tech business development, has become a center of that activity. Its 2,200 companies include fast-growing "gazelle" firms, as well as big names such as disk-drive maker Western Digital Corp. and Japanese electronics maker Toshiba Corp. The nearby coastline is dotted with video and computer game developers and other high-tech startups.
Though still well behind the glowing success of Silicon Valley, the Spectrum is expected to attract an increasing share of information technology firms, particularly because business and housing costs in the Bay Area have skyrocketed.
