App Stores Create 500,000 U.S. Jobs

Approximately 466,000 jobs have been created in the U.S. by the current demand for smartphone and tablet applications, says a new study from TechNet. The research firm points out that U.S. companies have been quick to capitalize on the new business opportunity that has arisen thanks in part to Apple, Google, Microsoft, RIM, and others.

"America's App Economy--which had zero jobs just five 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. "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 jobs aren't just in Silicon Valley, either. In fact, they're spread across a number of metropolitan markets around the country.

New York City and the surrounding metropolitan area is the largest single market when it comes to the concentration of app economy jobs. Combined, however, San Francisco and San Jose "substantially exceed" the New York metro region.

[ How can your company best succeed in the app economy? See The App Economy's Special Ingredient: APIs. ]

Although the state of California tops the list of app economy states with nearly a quarter of all app-related jobs, states such as Georgia, Florida, and Illinois get their share as well. TechNet reports that more than two-thirds of app-related jobs are located outside of California and New York.

TechNet's data shows that each application amounts to jobs, whether that be for programmers, user interface designers, marketers, managers, or support staff. The numbers also reflect app-related jobs in large corporations, such as Amazon, AT&T, or Electronic Arts, in addition to the companies that host or offer the apps, such as Apple, Facebook, and Google.

Considering that the Android Market, BlackBerry App World, and iPhone App Store are together responsible for nearly 30 billion app downloads, TechNet's conclusions make a lot of sense. Between the Android Market and iPhone App Store, there are more than one million active applications available for download. Add in the apps from App World, Microsoft's Marketplace for Mobile, the Nokia App Store, and others, and you get the picture.

Perhaps the best news to come from TechNet's data is that the app economy is still growing. The research firm expects the number of app-related jobs to continue to climb in the coming years.

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