Survey: Trump will be good for tech industry

In addition, 59% believe the incoming Trump administration will be favourable to the technology industry, compared to 50% of the general public. Participants in the survey included 1,000 members of the US general public, as well as a separate sample of 500 technology elites, individuals who either work in technology or invest in the technology sector.

Job creation

Continuing in this optimistic vein, 73% of technology elites believe the technology industry will contribute to job creation, compared to 63% of the general public, and 73% of technology elites say that innovation is critical to the US’s position in the global economy and the technology industry is going in the right direction to maintain that, compared to 59% of the general public.

Overall, 52% of technology elites believe the country is going in the right direction compared to 27% of the general public, and 59% say the economy will improve under President Trump compared to 46% of the general public. In addition, 88% of technology elites and 76% of the general public trust the technology industry to behave responsibly and in the best interests of the American public.

Economic outlook

In contrast to the optimism among technology elites about the current and future state of the economy, the general public expressed some concerns, with 59% believing the country is on the wrong track. Furthermore, less than half of the general public (43%) believe the economy is better off than it was four years ago, with only one in five indicating it will be significantly better five years from now.

While both technology elites and the general public believe the technology industry will do better in the next four years (56% and 66%, respectively), they are less sure about Donald Trump’s role in that success. Only 50% of the general public say “yes” when asked if Trump is a technology industry supporter, and this is only slightly higher among technology elites at 59%.

Future of the industry

Technology elites are evenly split on whether the Trump or Obama administrations better understand the needs of companies in the industry, although the general public is slightly more likely to favour the Trump administration at 58%.

When asked to choose the word that best describe how they feel about the future of the industry under the Trump administration, 37% of technology elites choose positive words (optimistic, energised, supported, eager), 34% choose negative words (concerned, anxious, attacked, angry), and 27% choose neutral words (wait and see, neutral, so-so/mixed feelings).

The general public was even more ambivalent about Trump’s impact on the future of the technology industry, with a plurality (39%) choosing neutral words, 33% choosing positive words and 27% choosing negative words.