Jobs in the legal cannabis industry are on track to outpace those in the manufacturing, utilities, and government sectors, according to a New Frontier report outlined by Forbes. By 2020, the cannabis market is expected to create more than 250,000 jobs; while the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects manufacturing jobs to decrease by 814,000, utility jobs to decrease by 47,000, and a 383,000 decline in government jobs by 2024.
The New Frontier data is based only on the 32 state markets that currently exist, and do not take into consideration markets that could come online by 2020. The projections are based on a Marijuana Policy Group analysis – the firm hired by Colorado for an economic study.
Giadha Aguirre De Carcer, founder and CEO of New Frontier Data, said that the numbers “confirm that cannabis is a major economic driver and job creation engine for the U.S. economy.”
“We expect the cannabis industry’s growth to be slowed down to some degree in the next three to five years, however with a projected total market sales to exceed $24 billion by 2025, and the possibility of almost 300,000 jobs by 2020, it remains a positive economic force in the U.S.,” he said in the report.
According to a Marijuana Business Daily report cited by Forbes, the industry already employs between 100,000 and 150,000 workers.