Tech Pulse Index
1995 to present

In April 2008, the real Tech Pulse Index grew at an annualized rate of 19.7%, which is below its growth rate of 22.2% over the past 12 months, as well as 7.9% below its historical average growth rate. The nominal Tech Pulse Index grew at an annualized rate of 13.9% in April, which is below its growth rate of 15.0% over the past year and 7.9% below its historical average. Data on shipments and employment growth in the technology sector continue to lead to downward revisions in the growth rate of the index over the past year relative to its historical trend.

Background The Tech Pulse Index is a summary statistic that tracks the health of the technology sector of the economy in a timely manner. The Tech Pulse Index is computed monthly from a number of data series that move with the technology sector as a whole. The series used to compute the index are investment, consumption, employment, industrial production, and shipments in the technology sector. Please note that each month's numbers differ from those published in prior months and in the Current Issues article because we have additional data which changes the information we use for estimating previous periods. Each month's numbers will be released on the second Wednesday of that month.

Next release: June 11, 2008

For more information, see:
Taking the Pulse of the Tech Sector: A Coincident Index of High-Tech Activity
By Bart Hobijn, Kevin J. Stiroh and Alexis Antoniades, Current Issues in Economics and Finance 9 (10), Oct 2003

For further questions, contact Bart Hobijn (212) 720-5740 or Allison Mirkin (212) 720-8255.