Software Business Driving US Jobs, GDP Growth

The software industry fueled jobs and GDP growth in the United States in 2020, according to a report released Tuesday by an international software research organization.

The report by Software.org: theBSA Foundation found the software industry supported more than 15.8 million jobs in 2020, a 5.9 percent jump from 2018; and supported $US1.9 billion in total value-added GDP, a 17.1 percent increase over the previous two-year period.

More than 12.5 million of those jobs were outside the tech sector, added the report, which measures software’s impact on the U.S. economy with data and analysis from The Economist Intelligence Unit.

It also noted that the industry directly contributed $933 billion to the U.S. economy in 2020, a 15.1 percent over 2018.

Software continue to play an instrumental role throughout the pandemic — easing many Americans’ transition to remote work, empowering manufacturers to rapidly shift to producing medical and personal protective equipment, and helping small businesses connect with customers online.

as a whole is going to take up a bigger percentage of the total job market.