IT Jobs Will Expand Globally by Nearly 6 Million in 4 Years

By 2013, jobs in information technology will expand by 5.8 million worldwide, according to a recent report by technology analyst firm IDC. The Framingham, Mass.-based firm expects that 75,000 new businesses will be created with an annual rate of job growth at 3 percent in that span, said a news release on the report.

The report cites growth in software and cloud computing as a major driver of new businesses and jobs, and expects new "in the cloud" businesses to generate $800 billion in revenues by 2013.
Of the 52 countries in the analyst report, IDC forecasts IT spending to expand to $1.7 trillion by 2013, said a Bloomberg News article:

"Total spending on IT in a sample of 52 countries will reach about $1.7 trillion in that year, from $1.41 trillion in 2009, with more than half the net increase coming from emerging markets. ... That rate of increase will be more than three times the expected rate of gross domestic product growth in the 52 countries studied, which account for almost all current IT spending, IDC said.

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"Emerging economies such as those of China and India have been less affected by the worst recession since World War II than Europe and North America, and have more room to grow as consumers become more affluent.

"'The advantages of a growing IT sector are more extensive than the raw numbers alone suggest,' IDC wrote. 'IT jobs tend to be higher skilled than most others, particularly in emerging economies, and countries with higher computerization can be more competitive in world markets.'"

"Over the past 20 years, we've seen transformative power in how investments in IT innovations foster economic growth," said Robert D. Atkinson, founder of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation in Washington, D.C., in an AFP news article about the IDC report. "Continued innovation and investment in information technology will help jump-start recovery from the current recession and will significantly contribute to the growth of employment and new businesses."

Because of the economy and its effects on capital expenditures, IDC revised its outlook earlier this year and reprojected worldwide IT spending at $1.44 trillion for 2009.

"The forecast for IT spending growth in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) has also been reduced, with overall growth now expected to be 3.2%, down from the earlier forecast of 4% growth. IT spending in China is expected to grow 6.5%, down from 9.1%, and India's growth has been reduced to 5.7% from 10%," said an IDC news release from February.