Apple today announced that the iOS app economy has created nearly 300,000 new jobs in the United States since April 2019, citing research shared by Dr. Michael Mandel, chief economic strategist at the non-profit Progressive Policy Institute.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Apple said the App Store continues to provide economic opportunities, with apps supporting essential needs like remote learning, telehealth, and food ordering. According to Apple, the App Store ecosystem now supports more than 2.1 million U.S. jobs across all 50 states, an increase of 15 percent since last year.
Apple's press release provides some examples of companies of various sizes that have seen success on the App Store in the past year.
"We've had incredible growth in the last year, and we've massively expanded our team to meet demand," said Maxeme Tuchman, co-founder of kid-friendly video calling app Caribu. "It means so much to us to not only be able to help connect families and friends at this difficult time, but to be able to provide stable, well-paying jobs to our growing number of employees as well. The App Store has given us a platform on which we can do both."
Apple also noted that it employs over 90,000 employees across all 50 states, and supports 450,000 manufacturing and supply chain jobs. The company is on track to fulfill its commitment to contribute $350 billion in the U.S. over a five-year period.
Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie.
"Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
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In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps.
The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future.
To set up the...
Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by Juli Clover
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works.
We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2.
The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update.
According to Apple's release notes, ...
Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by Joe Rossignol
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more.
Apple is expected to release/update the following products...
I feel like this is a bit misleading. How many of these devs had other developer jobs before focusing on iOS? How many were front or back end devs? I doubt this 300k of devs were devs that never had jobs before.
Whatever you think about the App Store, the charging and whatever else, it has created a lot of jobs and wealth for many developers. Apple is not the only winner.
According to Apple ... says it all, as if these 300k people were unemployed, flipping cents at the corner. lol I want to see a decent non-apple statistics, not these mumbo jumbo numbers...
Never trust any statistics that you didn't forge yourself
Notice that it just says "jobs", not "full-time employment" or "Apple hires". I have no doubt that the iOS market is creating jobs, but I'm also sure those numbers include just about everyone who has done some work loosely related to iOS apps.
Well done Apple. And now let's wait and see how many people here have to badmouth this good news because they have a disturbed relationship to good things...
‚Fragment and destroy‘ was a battle cry of the Bolshevik USSR, and has been injected into the American zeitgeist from the ‚highest‘ level these days.
By the way: Are there surveys on the age, experience and educational level of MacRumors readers available?
Well it would be good to know the methodology behind these statistics. Is this 300K new app developers making a living from the something they have on the App Store?
I don't think so. They say 2 million people work on the app economy, there is no way those are all iOS developers. Maybe they count all the people involved in making an app like designers, backend developers, frontend developers for the website version, tech support, HR people. If that's the case, 2 million people may be a good estimate. But it doesn't mean there will be 2 mil people unemployed. I'm an iOS developer, but that's one of my roles in the company, I work on stuff unrelated to apps for about 50% of the time. I'd still be employed even if there wasn't the app store.
