The bosses of German digital companies are not being put off by the weakening overall economy.

The index for sentiment in the sector continued its recovery in January and rose to 18.5 points from 16.6 points in the previous month, according to a survey published on Monday by the industry association Bitkom and the Ifo Institute. Meanwhile, managers were also optimistic about the outlook for the first time in a good six months. This sub-barometer rose to plus two from minus 0.6 points. "The signs in the digital sector are pointing to growth again," said Bitkom President Achim Berg. "This is good news for Germany as a whole, because with 1.35 million employees, IT and telecommunications companies are a major employer."

(Report by Hakan Ersen, edited by Ralf Banser. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)