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Tech Holds Ground Amid Slump
Growth slow, but still up; unemployment below average—no dot-com bust here
By Nick McMaster
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Posted Jul 9, 08 7:10 PM CDT
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(Newser)
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Despite malaise in most sectors of the economy, the technology industry is weathering the downturn well, USA Today reports. Sales are up only 3% this year over 2007—a mediocre result, considering the industry usually grows by more than 10%—but with tech unemployment at 3.9% compared to 5.7% overall, insiders aren't seeing the trouble signs they saw during the dot-com collapse of 2001.
Employees’ experiences match the numbers: many told USA Today that while business is not great, they were not seeing general declines. Sales are kept high, in part, by the fact that computers and certain software are essential to doing business: "Companies depend so much on technology. In many cases, they'd rather cut back on other things," one tech analyst said.