Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: Communications Policy and Employment Effects in the Information Sector
Phoenix Center
T. Randolph Beard, Ph.D., George S. Ford, Ph.D., Hyeongwoo Kim, Ph.D.
October, 2010

The authors investigate recent studies on employment in the communications industry and whether recent Federal Communications Commission regulation proposals have an effect on the industries investments.   The authors desire to determine whether regulation has a positive or negative impact on communications companies investing in employment.

It is determined in this paper that a %10 “negative shock” to expenditures in this sector has a backlash of causing the loss of around 130,000 jobs.  When the authors calculate indirect job loss, they estimate a job loss in the neighborhood of 327,600 jobs.  This result is based on the estimate that for every million dollars in expenditures removed from spending there will be 10 direct jobs lost, a result of 24 jobs lost in a trickle down effect across the sector.

The authors point out that:

• Communications jobs are not typical private-sector jobs and tend to make 45% higher earnings.
• Communications jobs ypically are resistant to recession.
• Communications jobs have a union membership rate twice the national average.

You can read the full study here.