Forrester Research reduces IT-spending forecast

Growth in information technology spending next year is expected to reach 1.6 percent in the United States, a substantial drop from previous forecasts.

Forrester Research's current 2009 estimate, released on Tuesday, is down from its previous forecast of 6.1 percent growth, which was issued prior to the steep drop in IT spending at the close of the third quarter.

In September, Forrester took the unusual step to outside of its usual quarterly schedule, noting that 2009 IT-spending growth would fall to 6.1 percent from previous forecasts of 10 percent growth.

"Our U.S. tech market forecast now assumes that the...decline in U.S. real GDP in (the third quarter of) 2008 will accelerate in (the fourth quarter of) 2008 and the first half of 2009, before a weak recovery starts in the half," Andrew Bartels, Forrester Research vice president, noted in the report.