Economist have a tough time these days. They have to deliver the news no one wants to hear. And Pearl Kamer, the chief economist for the Long Island Association, was cognizant of that as she began to address the Long Island chapter of the Association of Information Technology Professionals Tuesday afternoon.
“I wish I could bring you better economic news, but I can bring you good informationtechnology news,” she told the crowd of about 150 at the chapter’s seventh annual Technology Showcase at the Milleridge Inn in Jericho.
And she did just that.
Of the mounting number of residential foreclosures and the related loss of wealth because of the subprime meltdown, she said, “We haven’t seen anything like this since the 1929 Depression.”
Nervous laughter filtered through the crowd. Sensing the dread, Kamer quickly followed with, “Don’t slit your wrists yet. Good news is coming.”
And it did.
U.S. companies have more than doubled their investment in IT equipment and software in the past five years, she said. IT jobs are some of the highest paid on Long Island. And some categories such as database administrators and data communications analysts are projected to be among the fastest growing occupations on Long Island in the next decade, she said.
Technology, she said, will be the key to Long Island’s future competitiveness. Needless to say the crowd was pleased.
--Carrie Mason-Draffen