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Technology on a roll

Technology, like most parts of our economy, took a hit during the recession. But N.C. State University economist Mike Walden says it’s made a comeback — big time.

“This sector did decline during the recession as both businesses and households postponed buying tech products. But now that apparently the economy is back, there has been a big pent up demand for tech products. People are replacing their computers. Businesses are upgrading their information systems. So we have seen literally a boom in technology production, and certainly this has helped North Carolina because we have a major technology component here in our economy.

“But I think one of the important factors here is that, unlike the late 1990s when the technology sector was booming and it was also a lot of speculation in the stock market for tech stocks and of course that eventually lead to the so-called tech crash or dot com crash — we are not seeing that right now in tech stocks. We don’t see them going to unsustainable levels. All of the indicators of tech stocks are very moderate.

“So all of this looks good for technology for now that as the economy progresses that sector is going to continue moving upward.”