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.
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026.
"I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by Joe Rossignol
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld.
The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld.
Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by Juli Clover
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do.
The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up.
Upgraded Architecture
The next-generation...
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While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April.
Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far.
iOS 26.3
iPhone to Android Transfer Tool
iOS 26.3 makes it easier...
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...
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.
