New York app developers and tech companies are key drivers of a thriving $950 billion app economy, according to a new report by ACT, The App Association.
In its annual State of the App Economy report, which analyzed the impact of mobile, computer software and web applications on the broader economy, the company found that the app economy employs more than 289,520 developers, programmers, engineers and teachers in New York.
“Nearly 10 percent of top-grossing consumer apps are developed in New York, and the Big Apple continues to drive software innovations for businesses and enterprises,” the report said.
The state”™s computing workforce ranks second in the country. California leads the nation with 708,800 jobs in the industry. On average, New York”™s app economy jobs pay salaries of $103,407, higher than the $86,000 average salary for those employees nationwide.
The report also found that two out of three businesses use enterprise apps, complimenting the 175 million consumer app downloads last year. The report predicts the app economy will add more than 440,000 new jobs to the U.S. workforce over the next six years.
“By providing access to 10,000 years of human creativity, from ancient scrolls to crop reports to diagrams of distant galaxies and cat videos, the smart phone brings the entire world to our fingertips, and apps enable us to engage with it,” the report said.
The report also identified key issues that could affect the country”™s app economy in the future. The report found that for every eight available computing jobs, the U.S. produces only one computer science graduate.
A lack of broadband connectivity could also affect the app economy. According to the report, 34 million Americans lack access to broadband. Additionally, a lack of security protocols and a shortage of cybersecurity professionals nationwide could threaten the potential of apps in the U.S.
The report is based on ACT”™s analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Economic Census, National Center for Education Statistics and industry sources.
Based in Washington, D.C., ACT represents more than 5,000 app makers and connected device companies in the mobile economy. The company is an industry resource on market strategy, regulated industries, privacy and security.
