The tech sector trumpets signs of a real rebound

The calendar says we are well on our way to winter, but for many technology companies, orders are starting to bloom like flowers after a spring rain.

Strong and steady improvement, economists say, would suggest that the United States is truly emerging from the Great Recession. Yet if tech spending fades, it would mean that recovery is further off.

So far, there are many encouraging signs. The technology giants Intel, I.B.M. and Google delivered better-than-expected quarterly financial results this week, and their executives expressed confidence that the worst was over and a rebound under way. Top executives at Dell, Cisco Systems and other tech companies have also been optimistic recently.

“The worst of the recession is clearly behind us and because of what we have seen, we now have the confidence to be optimistic about our future,” Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, told analysts Thursday after the company’s strong earnings report.

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