WASHINGTON: The rapidly growing Internet sector accounted for $2.1 trillion of the US economy in 2018, or about 10 per cent of the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP), an industry group said.
The Internet Association, a group representing Amazon.com Inc, Facebook Inc, Alphabet Inc, Twitter Inc, Uber Technology Inc and many other firms, released its estimate as the tech sector has come under increasing criticism, with some lawmakers calling for the breakup of major firms and renewed antitrust scrutiny.
The study says the Internet sector represents the fourth largest sector of the US economy, behind real estate, government and manufacturing.
Last year, manufacturing accounted for about $2.3 trillion in US GDP.
The study found that the Internet sector has nearly 6 million direct jobs, which accounts for 4 per cent of US jobs, while US Internet firms spent $64 billion in capital expenditures. The study also found the Internet sector indirectly supports another 13 million jobs. — Reuters
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