This is part of a series reviewing industries that have experienced greater than 40% employment growth since 2007. Click here to see the summary. Data and analysis comes from Analyst and EMSI’s fourth quarter 2011 data release. Contact Rob Sentz (rob@economicmodeling.com) with questions. You can also follow EMSI @DesktopEcon.
While much of the economy has been suffering, internet publishing has been cruising along quite well. The specific industry in question is defined by the NAICS code system (519130):
This industry comprises establishments primarily engaged in 1) publishing and/or broadcasting content on the Internet exclusively or 2) operating Web sites that use a search engine to generate and maintain extensive databases of Internet addresses and content in an easily searchable format (and known as Web search portals). The publishing and broadcasting establishments in this industry do not provide traditional (non-Internet) versions of the content that they publish or broadcast. They provide textual, audio, and/or video content of general or specific interest on the Internet exclusively. Establishments known as Web search portals often provide additional Internet services, such as e-mail, connections to other web sites, auctions, news, and other limited content, and serve as a home base for Internet users.
Here is a visual overview of the industry:
From 2007-2011, internet publishers added 30,000 jobs, which is 40% growth. There are currently nearly 9,000 establishments, or places of work, in the U.S. About 70% of the industry is between the ages of 25 and 44. Also, most of the employees are male.
States like California and New York have higher concentrations of these workers. See the table for the complete breakdown.
State Name2007 Jobs2011 Jobs% Change2011 Avg. Annual Wage2007 National Location QuotientCalifornia26,20037,86245%$179,4683.17New York6,05111,47990%$128,9681.35Massachusetts3,9286,71071%$109,7812.31Washington3,0884,84057%$103,4931.97Ohio4,7134,569(3%)$82,0831.67Florida3,1573,80120%$70,3700.75Illinois2,7003,42927%$89,6800.87Texas2,2342,99134%$74,2110.41New Jersey1,9632,32919%$99,4420.94Virginia2,0572,1756%$109,0131.02Georgia1,0412,086100%$83,9830.48Colorado1,3841,96342%$84,5281.13Utah1,8711,9414%$71,1082.87Pennsylvania1,0741,73161%$98,8840.36North Carolina9141,56972%$67,8160.42Connecticut1,4671,451(1%)$156,0021.65Michigan355843137%$110,3010.16Minnesota7517885%$78,3530.53Maryland7307503%$95,6120.53Arizona6977122%$72,7390.50Oregon35871098%$81,0160.39District of Columbia635554(13%)$115,0021.75Missouri33549748%$48,6710.23Nevada40746013%$79,2530.60Tennessee30638425%$72,9450.21Indiana31037120%$61,0390.20Alabama172359109%$51,8960.16Kentucky25533632%$59,9140.26Oklahoma340321(6%)$61,4480.41New Hampshire27732016%$77,2810.83Louisiana145305110%$55,9410.15Idaho25130321%$71,9370.71Wisconsin2272489%$64,0530.15South Carolina92245166%$55,5620.09Iowa411234(43%)$59,8020.52Vermont220200(9%)$44,4071.38Kansas96198106%$62,4470.13Nebraska12919551%$56,9970.26Arkansas173155(10%)$46,3320.27Hawaii708217%$70,1520.20Maine73787%$50,2150.23New Mexico10077(23%)$49,6970.23Rhode Island63665%$79,2030.25Montana326294%$41,3320.14Delaware385442%$71,1470.17Mississippi1735106%$55,6760.03North Dakota1128155%$41,8340.06West Virginia24254%$59,8550.06Wyoming3421(38%)$88,4980.22South Dakota2211(50%)$111,9750.10Total719971009530.4127638
Clearly, California has the highest level of employment, highest wages, and the largest concentration for these jobs. In five years the state added over 10,000 new jobs, which is 45% growth.
New York added over 5,000 jobs in that same time period, which was 90% growth for the industry in the state.
Washington and Massachusetts, also with higher levels of employment, grew by 57% and 71%, respectively.
Many other states are also experiencing good growth, but the current employment levels are currently much smaller. Forty out of 50 states (and D.C.) experienced growth from ’07-11.
Next, we take a look at some of the top occupations employed by internet publishers:
SOC CodeOccupationEmployed in Industry (2007)Employed in Industry (2011)Change% Change% of the Total Jobs in Industry (2011)2011 Median Hourly WageEducation Level15-1032Computer software engineers, systems software4,4536,5402,08747%6.5%$45.32Bachelor's degree41-3099Sales representatives, services, all other3,8025,2551,45338%5.2%$23.99Work experience in a related field27-3041Editors3,0394,4621,42347%4.4%$25.02Bachelor's degree15-1031Computer software engineers, applications2,7574,0131,25646%4.0%$42.32Bachelor's degree43-4051Customer service representatives2,7583,9281,17042%3.9%$14.64Moderate-term on-the-job training15-1081Network systems and data communications analysts2,0423,2871,24561%3.3%$35.43Bachelor's degree11-3021Computer and information systems managers1,8902,68779742%2.7%$54.98Degree plus work experience15-1041Computer support specialists1,9722,60963732%2.6%$21.42Associate's degree11-1021General and operations managers1,9472,59664933%2.6%$45.21Degree plus work experience19-3021Market research analysts1,6682,49682850%2.5%$29.90Bachelor's degree15-1021Computer programmers1,8782,44256430%2.4%$34.25Bachelor's degree
Computer software engineers, systems software and computer software engineers, applications are the most common occupations. Software engineers comprise 10.5% of the internet publishing industry. Both of these jobs pay well and require bachelor’s degrees.
Sales and customer service representatives comprise another 9% of the total industry. These jobs typically require on-the-job training and prior experience.
Seven of the 11 jobs on this list require a bachelor’s degree.
Five of the 11 are related to computer and science.
CONCLUSION
Everyone knows brands like Google, YouTube, Microsoft and the rest. Their growth has been rapid and demand for workers is very good. There also appears to be good growth in the industry sector apart from the big names. Currently employment still appears to be concentrated in a handful of states, but there is a lot of promise nationwide.
Feel free to comment below or email Rob Sentz (rob@economicmodeling.com) with any questions. You can follow EMSI on Twitter @DesktopEcon.