After two years of decimating unemployment and lackluster sales, the I.T. industry is exhibiting some very welcome signs of life.

Digital Economy 2003, a new report released by the Department of Commerce, shows that most sectors of the I.T. economy are on the rebound, with I.T.-producing industries expected to contribute eight-tenths of a percentage point of the estimated 2.9 percent rate of real economic growth for 2003.

Not that all sectors are set to grow: Communications-equipment makers, for example, continue to show weakness, while computer and semiconductor manufacturers, as well as I.T. service firms, are growing at a moderate rate.

"I.T.-producing industries are once again at the forefront of national economic growth, and, on average, industries and firms that have invested most heavily in I.T. equipment achieve faster productivity growth than those that do not," says Commerce Secretary Donald Evans.

By Erika Morphy at Newsfactor.

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