In Short: I.T. Contribution To GDP Slows In Third Quarter

IT's support of U.S. economic growth has been relatively stable for a few years, hitting a few rough spots along the way. Last quarter, it hit one of those bumps.

Third-quarter gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 3.7%, the Commerce Department reported last week. IT investments accounted for 4.8% of economic growth, hitting a six-quarter low. Since the first of quarter 2003, when IT contributed 31.1% to GDP growth, the rate has hovered between 12.4% and 16.7%.

IT investments tend to be more volatile than other contributors to economic growth, such as consumer spending, says Creighton University economics professor Ernest Goss, who cautions against reading too much into one quarter's numbers.