Tech Pulse Index
1998 to present

In July 2008, the real Tech Pulse Index grew at an annualized rate of 10.3%, which is below its growth rate of 17.4% over the past 12 months, as well as 17.9% below its historical average growth rate.  The nominal Tech Pulse Index grew at an annualized rate of 8.4% in July, which is below its growth rate of 11.9% over the past year and 13.2% below its historical average. Recent data on shipments and employment have resulted in a substantial downward revision of the growth rate of both indices over the past three months.

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.

Announcement:
The Tech Pulse Index at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will be discontinued after August 13, 2008.
A new version of the Tech Pulse index will be available through the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco in the Fall of 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 (415) 974-2168.