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Sunday November 27, 2011
Paul Higgins: Not sure that this is strictly comparable as the ecosystem that is formed by these technologies creates far more jobs than a direct manufacture a product and deliver it business
“Digital” businesses like Apple employ far fewer people (per profit) than traditional manufacturing businesses.
Apple’s 60,000+ jobs are not just in the US—they’re spread around the world.
Apple’s extraordinary ~25% profit margin means that the benefits of its success accrue primarily to a relatively small group of shareholders rather than a broad base of employees.
To put this in context, the Economist recently noted that Apple, Amazon, and Google together employ 113,000 people—which is less than 1/3rd as many as a single American success-story from the prior generation, GM, employed in 1980.