Information industry unemployment rate in the U.S. 2010-2023

In second quarter of 2023, the unemployment rate in the information industry in the United States stood at 3.1 percent, increasing from 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022. In 2020, the tech industry was hit hard by the economic recession brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, registering a record 12 percent unemployment rate during the second quarter.

Information industry in the U.S.

The U.S. information industry consists of those businesses involved in the production or distribution of information, those involved in providing a means to distribute information and data, and those involved in data processing. More specifically, the sector is comprised of six segments: publishing industries (except internet), motion picture and sound recording industries, broadcasting (except internet), telecommunications, data processing/hosting, and other information services.

Employment in the U.S. information industry

As a whole, the sector employs nearly around million people around the United States and accounts for a significant portion of the country’s entertainment industry. As unemployment has fallen, average hourly earnings within the sector have also risen sharply within the past decade, now amounting to almost 45 dollars per hour. This trend towards more favorable employment conditions comes at a time when union membership within the industry declined to 8.4 percent in 2022.