Online Advertising Creates $300B in Economic Activity: Study
Interactive advertising is responsible for $300 billion of economic activity in America and represents 2.1% of the total U.S. gross domestic product, according to a study released last week by the Interactive Advertising Bureau.
Moreover, the Internet directly employs more than 1.2 million Americans with above-average wages in jobs that did not exist two decades ago, and another 1.9 million people work to support those with directly Internet-related jobs, according to the study.
As a result, 3.05 million, or roughly 2% of employed Americans owe their jobs to the ad-supported Internet, the study concluded.
Internet service providers are the Internet’s No. 1 employer, accounting for just over 181,000 jobs, according to the study.
E-tailers, excluding other forms of e-commerce are the second largest source of online employment, accounting for more than 171,000 jobs, according to the study. The sector is also responsible for more than 131,000 jobs in shipping.
Amazon.com is the No. 1 e-tail employer, accounting for 12,750 jobs, the study said.
Staples.com is No. 2, accounting for 6,395 jobs, according to the study.
The study, commissioned by the IAB was produced by Harvard Business School professors John Deighton and John Quelch, along with Cambridge, MA-based Hamilton Consultants.
“This study underscores that the Internet ecosystem is generating an increasing level of economic activity in every corner of the nation,” said Quelch in a statement.
