WASHINGTON, June 7 -- According to a report done by the US Commerce Department the telecommunication and computer industries were responsible for nearly a third of the economic growth in the US last year. The report also stated that these industries are also largely responsible for boosting productivity and holding down inflation in the US.The US Commerce Department's annual report on the Digital Economy -- now in its third year -- covers the broad category of information technology. According to the department, information technology has played a major role in sustaining the expansion of the US economy. Information Technology and the Internet are having a deep and significant effect on the way the US economy performs, said Rober Shapiro, the US undersecretary of commerce. The rapid rate of growth in the IT sector tells you that IT is selling across the US economy. That is, more and more companies and more and more industries from both the old and new economies are investing in telecommunications and related gear. According to the study, people who worked in IT-related fields were paid an average annual salary of $58,000, while the yearly income for people in private industries averaged $31,400. The study also found that while information technology equaled approximately 8 percent of the economy's total output, it contributed 32 percent to overall economic growth.