TechNet, the bipartisan policy and political network of technology CEOs that promotes the growth of the innovation economy, today released a new study showing that there are now roughly 466,000 jobs in the ‘App Economy’ in the United States, up from zero in 2007.
The study, sponsored by TechNet and conducted by Dr. Michael Mandel of South Mountain Economics LLC, also found that App Economy jobs are spread throughout the nation. The top metro area for App Economy jobs is New York City and its surrounding suburban counties, although together San Francisco and San Jose together substantially exceed New York. And while California tops the list of App Economy states with nearly one in four jobs, states such as Georgia, Florida, and Illinois get their share as well. In fact, more than two-thirds of App Economy employment is outside of California and New York. The results also suggest that the App Economy is growing quickly and that the location and number of app-related jobs are likely to shift greatly in the years ahead.
“America’s App Economy – which had zero jobs just 5 years ago before the iPhone was introduced – demonstrates that we can quickly create economic value and jobs through cutting-edge innovation,” said Rey Ramsey, President and CEO of TechNet, in the press release. “Today, the App Economy is creating jobs in every part of America, employing hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers today and even more in the years to come.”
“The App Economy, along with the broad communications sector, has been a leading source of hiring strength in an otherwise sluggish labor market,” said Dr. Michael Mandel, the report’s author and President of South Mountain Economics and former Chief Economist for BusinessWeek.
Top U.S. Metro Areas With Highest Percentage of App Economy Jobs
New York-Northern N.J.-Long Island – 9.2%
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont – 8.5%
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara – 6.3%
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue – 5.7%
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana – 5.1%
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria – 4.8%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet – 3.5%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy – 3.5%
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta – 3.3%
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington – 2.6%
Top Ten States for App Economy Jobs (Percentage)
California – 23.8%
New York – 6.9%
Washington – 6.4%
Texas – 5.4%
New Jersey – 4.2%
Illinois – 4.0%
Massachusetts – 3.9%
Georgia – 3.7%
Virginia – 3.5%
Florida – 3.1%
The research shows that when it comes to employment impacts, each app represents jobs—for programmers, for user interface designers, for marketers, for managers, for support staff. Conventional employment numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics are not able to track such a new phenomenon because this economic ecosystem is so new. The research analyzed detailed information from The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine (HWOL) database, a comprehensive and up-to-the-minute compilation of want ads, to estimate the number of jobs in the App Economy.
The total number of Apps Economy jobs includes jobs at ‘pure’ app firms such as Zynga as well as app-related jobs at large companies such as Electronic Arts, Amazon, and AT&T, as well as app ‘infrastructure’ jobs at core firms such as Google, Apple, and Facebook. In addition, the App Economy total includes employment spillovers to the rest of the economy.
Read the full report (.pdf) here.
Source: TechNet
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote last month, “Even more than you don’t want an $1200 iPhone (after carrier subsidy), the U.S. doesn’t want… subsistence-level (or worse) assembly jobs. Today, in a global economy, where great wage disparities exist, those type of jobs generally cost more than they are worth as they simply don’t pay enough to allow people to live independently. You want the kind of jobs Apple has already proven to have created.”
Related articles:
Apple and the American economy – January 24, 2012
Apple, Steve Jobs, Obama, America and a squeezed middle class – January 21, 2012
How Rick Santorum would lure Apple to move assembly from China to Charleston – January 21, 2012
Apple’s real market value: How many U.S. jobs it creates – November 21, 2011
iOS developer salaries skyrocket – November 9, 2011
How many U.S. jobs has Apple’s iPod created? – July 8, 2011
as a vibrant member of the community I heartily concur.
Um
Sorry
I meant “a member of the vibrant community”
466,000 in 4 years? Big deal. I created 466,000 food stamp dependents in the last month alone. Now that’s some “creation” — democrat vote creation! ROTFLMFAO! Heh, heh, heh, just kidding (fingers crossed behind back), I gotta go, late for my tee time… hey, uh, where’s my smokes?
You’re the biggest idiot on earth
Can’t take a joke can you.
He’s definitely tied with “Ballmer’s left nut” for the title of “Biggest Idiot On Earth”.
What a stupid dick you are. No one gives a shit about your opinion.
BLN at least is funny and entertaining just sometimes –
which bashers hardly ever achieve. people without humor make this world a darker place.
From what I’ve seen, a lot of people don’t really place much value in the rantings of Bln. But feel free to add your thought provoking statements.
Food stamp dependents are growing daily. I’ll wager that not many of these new jobs in the ‘App Economy’ are union jobs, much to the Mighty ‘O’s chagrin. ( Have you ever seen that guy’s grin?)
Oh, JP. You seem to disappoint me daily. Unions are not inherently evil, any more than ultra-right reactionary Republicans are inherently evil. Nor are all regulations or taxes evil. Most of them serve a purpose, although some are misguided. The correct answer in (almost) all of these cases is not to get rid of them all, but to prune and refine with thoughtfulness and care.
But to follow the herd that seems to believe that unions are the root of all evil, or that taxes are somehow unAmerican, that massive military spending is essential even in the face of huge deficits, or that providing some assistance to the unfortunate is a slide into Federal socialism…well, that’s just sad.
I am far from the only person who believes strongly in a middle ground and scorns the irrational fears and rhetoric of the political extremes in the U.S., both left and right. There is a better way – a reasoned, methodical, incremental process of enhancing the good aspects of government and eliminating the lesser. But it will require making the hard decisions, supporting the impacts of those decisions in a united manner, and accepting the burden of shared sacrifice that will make tomorrow better. I am talking about actually walking the walk of our ancestors rather than just invoking their memories to justify decades of moral and ethical weakness and hypocrisy.
I have said it before, and I will say it again. As long as the money is well spent, I am an American citizen who is proud to pay my taxes to support this great country. Those who are not deserve only derision.
How’s that Donald Trump!
Sorry, made a mention on another thread before. Donald Trump trumpeting that Apple should be an example, maybe he should make his own example before blaming others.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/donald-trumps-clothing-line-made-in-china/
So all apps make money for the developer and no apps are created outside the US? These guys are full of it. The truth is Apple created a great new way for an individual or small team to develop income producing products. But their numbers are BS.
Using their numbers $20 billion sales divided by 466000 jobs yields $43K per job, $10K BELOW the national mean, on average. With that median number, knowing there are millionaires being created in the app economy, I’d sure like to know the median income for these 466000 jobs. Looks like there are more than a few “jobs” that won’t pay for ramen noodles. Some boom.
This is what happens when you do “research” knowing the desired answer.
Second sentence should read: With that mean number, knowing there are millionaires being created in the app economy, I’d sure like to know the median
i think the report stated there were 310,000 jobs in the “app economy” with another 50% created outside it. the sales only apply to the 310,000 not the 466,000 and so, using all their numbers, this comes out to about $64.5K per job. certainly not millionaire status, but not too shabby either.
And if we didn’t have a third world education and health care system, we might actually be able to cash in on this trend.
This is great data, and just goes to show that if this is the future of our economy in this country, a good education is going to be more important than ever. We need to stop trying to fix things by throwing good money after bad with no results, recognize that our education system was based on a long gone agricultural society, and stop the one size fits all education method. School choice, vouchers, privatization, and stepping away from the teachers’ unions are the way forward.
You’re right, but for some of the wrong reasons. Our agrarian and early-industrial-revolution-based system is deservedly on the outs. Buts school choice does not help much; it’s been proven in the city of St. Paul where school choice has been the norm for decades. Vouchers and privatization are not feasible. Children aren’t widgets; private schools currently produce better results because they don’t have to serve anyone they don’t want to. Unions? States where union teachers work have higher student achievement than those without.
The landscape of education will change because most students, especially beyond elementary school, will take most of their courses online. Research is showing that hybrid learning is more effective than either all face-to-face or all online, but if we’re smart, we’ll create systems in which parents and students will work with counselors to determine which method works best for each student. Some will excel online. Some will need constant classroom work. Others will thrive in hybrid situations. Neither teachers’ unions, school boards, parents, or any other stakeholders will keep this from happening, and it will finally revolutionize education in the U.S.
The going consulting rate for iOS programmers is $150 per hour and if you want to hire one in the us, the starting salary is above $120k per year. There is a huge shortage now. I’m teaching my kids iOS programming. They may use it or they may not, but it is a powerful tool to have and with iTunes u, you can learn it for free.
Do these numbers include new or additional jobs in iOS peripheral products and services industries?
Roughly 25% of any western economy’s adults are functionally or completely illiterate. The App Economy will not help them they used to make TV sets and washing machines. What will they do now? The current unemployment situation is a huge opportunity for Apple. Someday it needs to give back more. The App Economy s a great start. What else can the world’s biggest, best and brightest company do to invent things tat will help the poorest amongst us lift themselves up? I think that’s an incredible challenge and am hoping it will happen very soon.