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The expected growth rate for IT employment of 3 percent per year is more than three times the rate of growth of total employment and a solid indicator that investing in IT will contribute to economic recovery and growth, according to a new study by Microsoft and IDC.

"In this fundamental economic reset, innovative technologies will play a vital role in driving productivity gains and enabling the creation of new local businesses and highly skilled jobs that fuel economic recovery and support sustainable economic growth," said Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

Steve Ballmer
CEO of Microsoft

"Countries that foster innovation and invest in infrastructure, education and skills development for their citizens will have a major competitive advantage in the global marketplace."

Global IT spending will create 5.8 million new jobs between the end of 2009 and the end of 2013.

Spending on software is growing faster than spending on IT overall at 4.8 percent a year between 2008 and 2013, compared with 3.3 percent for all IT spending. During 2009, total IT employment in 52 countries dropped a fraction of a percentage point, while software-related employment grew 4 percent.

The IT market will create more than 75,000 new businesses over the next four years. Most of the new companies will be small and locally owned.

"Over the past 20 years, we've seen transformative power in how investments in IT innovations foster economic growth," said Robert D. Atkinson, Ph.D., founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

"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."