Ballmer: IT can reboot economy

“What we see today feels like a new normal,’’ Ballmer said during a speech before the Boston College Chief Executives Club at the InterContinental Boston Hotel yesterday. Information technology spending by businesses has declined by “15, 20, maybe 25 percent’’ during the recession, he said, and “the consumer electronics market in the home has shrunk consistently in the last 18 months.’’

Ballmer said the consumer market has apparently stabilized but won’t bounce back quickly because so much growth earlier in the decade was predicated on massive expansions in consumer debt.

“We were, in a sense . . . borrowing from the future,’’ he said. The next wave of economic growth must come from “more productivity and more innovation in order to drive more job growth.’’

The good news, said Ballmer, is that the information technology sector is poised to unleash a wave of innovative products and services. “I look out for the next five to 10 years and, frankly, I see more opportunity for more IT innovation, to have a more profound impact on society, even than the last five or 10 years,’’ he said.

He also predicted that the next decade will see the development of better interactive entertainment services, improvements in digital technologies for storing and accessing medical records, and new ways to deliver educational services.

Microsoft is pouring billions of dollars into research and development to ensure the company will be a leader in these new technologies. “We invest more in R&D than any other company in the world, because we believe in the power of these innovations,’’ Ballmer said.

Microsoft has about 1,000 employees in Massachusetts, with 700 of them involved in research. Ballmer said the state figures in the software giant’s plans for expansion. “We will continue to grow,’’ he said, “Certainly this is one of the places we will grow.’’

Without naming specific companies, Ballmer said Microsoft was eyeing potential acquisition targets in Massachusetts.

Ballmer was coy about possible plans for a Microsoft retail store in Massachusetts. In a bid to imitate rival Apple Inc.’s successful retailing chain, the company will soon open its first stores in Scottsdale, Ariz ., and Mission Viejo, Calif. Asked whether Boston would soon see a Microsoft outlet, Ballmer replied, “We’ve got to get those kinks worked out first.’’

He was introduced by EMC Corp. chief executive Joseph M. Tucci, who shared Ballmer’s cautious outlook on the economy.

“We aren’t expecting any kind of rapid recovery,’’ said Tucci, who has known Ballmer for nearly two decades. But Tucci agreed that digital technology companies are likely to lead the eventual rebound.

Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.