The Economic Impact of the Market Making Internet

This study, commissioned by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and led by a researcher from Harvard Business School, assesses the impact of the internet on US gross domestic product (GDP). Key findings:

• The internet economy grew seven times faster than the total US economy during the past four years, and now accounts for 12 percent of the US GDP.
• More than 17 million jobs in the US were generated by the commercial internet, 7 million more than four years ago.
• More internet jobs, 38 percent, were created by small firms and self-employed individuals than by the largest internet companies, which generated 34 percent.
• There are 200,000 full-time equivalent jobs in the online creator economy.
• Every congressional district depends on internet-dependent jobs; Seven congressional districts have at least 10 percent of their residents working directly in the internet ecosystem, accounting for 9 percent of total US internet employment.