500metrics

Current Employment Statistics (CES5000000001) · Information, seasonally adjusted

How many jobs are there in the information industry?

The number of jobs in the information industry was 2,739 thousand in the month ended , down 4.2% from a year earlier (preliminary).

Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month

January 1939 to September 2026Seasonally adjusted, as published

Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month (January 1939 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, each month (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours)

January 1939 to September 2026Ours, from the published values

Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (January 1939 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2016 to September 2026), recessions shaded
Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, change from a year earlier, each month (ours) (September 2024 to September 2026)

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to , to .

Shaded bands are US recessions as the National Bureau of Economic Research dates them: to .

Each point is one month of the series as the source publishes it, or a change worked out from those values (ours). The US recessions are shaded. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

Select a line to follow

Inspect and compare dates

The newest month beside the one before it and the nearest ones a year, five and ten years earlier. The last ten years are in the table under "The numbers behind the chart".

MeasureLatestThe month beforeA year earlierFive years earlierTen years earlier
Month
Jobs in the information industry, in thousands2,739 thousand2,749 thousand2,859 thousand2,917 thousand2,817 thousand
Change over a year−4.2%−3.9%−1.5%+8.2%+1.9%

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

Observed .

Right now

The number of jobs in the information industry was 2,739 thousand in September 2026, the lowest since December 2020.

Over a year it is down 4.2% (ours). The source marks this value preliminary.

See every month of the last ten years

ChangeOurs

PeriodThenChange
One month2,749 thousand in −0.4%
Three months2,763 thousand in −0.9%
Twelve months2,859 thousand in −4.2%
Five years2,917 thousand in −6.1%
Ten years2,817 thousand in −2.8%

In historyOurs

The number of jobs in the information industry of 2,739 thousand in was higher than in 736 of the 1,052 other months since , the same in 1 and lower in 315.

Highest since : 3,718 thousand in . Lowest since : 1,112 thousand in .

AverageOurs

Average since : 2,343.7 thousand (ours, a plain mean of the 1,053 months).

ComparedOurs

Over a year the number of jobs in the information industry is down 4.2%, which ranks 34 of the 35 rows of the table, where 1 is the largest change.

The table sets the number of jobs in the information industry beside the industries on the jobs by industry page, by the change over a year in each one's newest month.

See every row of the ranking

Inside itOurs

Of the 6 industries inside information that BLS reports, the change over a year was largest for web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services, up 0.1%, and smallest for motion picture and sound recording industries, down 5.8% (ours).

See every industry inside it

Openings and turnoverJob Openings and Labor Turnover Survey

In August 2026 the survey counted, for information, 123 thousand job openings, 44 thousand hires, 30 thousand quits and 28 thousand layoffs and discharges.

Over a year the counts are job openings down 12.8%, hires down 36.2%, quits down 11.8% and layoffs and discharges down 20.0% (ours).

Job openings, hires, quits and layoffs in information

August 2016 to August 2026Seasonally adjusted, as publishedNo picture is made of these rows; their numbers are in the table

Job openings, hires, quits and layoffs in information, one row for each measure
  • Job openings12370 to 274
  • Hires4440 to 140
  • Quits3022 to 61
  • Layoffs and discharges2812 to 191

Each row is one measure of the second survey for information, in thousands over the last ten years, one month to a point, on one scale, with its newest value and its range printed beside it. Pointing at the chart shows the month and the value.

Observed .

See every measure with its change and record

Understanding the number of jobs in the information industry

Where it stands today

The number of jobs in the information industry was 2,739 thousand in September 2026.

What does the number of jobs in the information industry measure?

Information covers publishing of newspapers, books and software, film and sound recording, broadcasting and online content, telecommunications, data processing and web hosting, and other information services such as libraries and web search portals.

Read more

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) counts these jobs each month in a survey of employers, the Current Employment Statistics, and publishes them in the Employment Situation report at the start of the next month. The count is all employees on payrolls, in thousands, seasonally adjusted.

What 500metrics adds: the change over one month, three months, a year and five years, the highest and lowest value since the series begins, how the change over a year ranks among the lines of the jobs by industry page, the industries inside it with their own change over a year. For this industry it also shows the job openings, hires, quits and layoffs from the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), a second BLS survey, beside the count of jobs.

The numbers behind the chart

What was the number of jobs in the information industry in each month?The last ten years, 120 months, newest first; the chart and the file have every month since Jan 1939
Jobs in the information industry, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, by month, newest first (Thousands of jobs; the change ours)
MonthValueChange over a year
2,739 thousand−4.2%
2,749 thousand−3.9%
2,767 thousand−3.3%
2,763 thousand−3.5%
2,782 thousand−2.9%
2,787 thousand−2.7%
2,793 thousand−2.6%
2,792 thousand−2.9%
2,815 thousand−2.2%
2,842 thousand−1.8%
2,848 thousand−1.3%
2,853 thousand−1.2%
2,859 thousand−1.5%
2,860 thousand−1.7%
2,861 thousand−1.9%
2,863 thousand−2.3%
2,864 thousand−2.3%
2,865 thousand−2.6%
2,867 thousand−2.8%
2,876 thousand−2.8%
2,877 thousand−2.9%
2,895 thousand−2.3%
2,885 thousand−2.6%
2,887 thousand−2.2%
Show 96 more rows
MonthValueChange over a year
2,903 thousand−2.4%
2,909 thousand−2.4%
2,917 thousand−2.8%
2,930 thousand−3.0%
2,930 thousand−3.4%
2,940 thousand−3.4%
2,951 thousand−3.2%
2,958 thousand−3.0%
2,963 thousand−3.2%
2,963 thousand−4.2%
2,962 thousand−4.9%
2,951 thousand−4.8%
2,975 thousand−3.9%
2,981 thousand−3.7%
3,001 thousand−3.0%
3,021 thousand−1.8%
3,034 thousand−0.8%
3,043 thousand+0.3%
3,049 thousand+1.0%
3,048 thousand+1.9%
3,061 thousand+2.6%
3,092 thousand+4.2%
3,115 thousand+5.3%
3,100 thousand+5.5%
3,095 thousand+6.1%
3,097 thousand+6.7%
3,094 thousand+7.4%
3,076 thousand+8.9%
3,057 thousand+8.6%
3,034 thousand+8.5%
3,018 thousand+9.0%
2,990 thousand+8.2%
2,984 thousand+8.6%
2,967 thousand+9.4%
2,957 thousand+9.7%
2,938 thousand+9.5%
2,917 thousand+8.2%
2,903 thousand+10.0%
2,881 thousand+9.9%
2,824 thousand+7.7%
2,816 thousand+7.9%
2,796 thousand+5.8%
2,770 thousand−4.5%
2,764 thousand−5.0%
2,747 thousand−5.3%
2,712 thousand−6.2%
2,696 thousand−6.6%
2,684 thousand−6.6%
2,695 thousand−6.1%
2,640 thousand−7.9%
2,622 thousand−8.5%
2,622 thousand−8.8%
2,609 thousand−8.7%
2,643 thousand−7.1%
2,902 thousand+1.9%
2,910 thousand+2.4%
2,901 thousand+2.1%
2,891 thousand+1.4%
2,885 thousand+1.2%
2,874 thousand+0.8%
2,871 thousand+1.2%
2,865 thousand+0.9%
2,866 thousand+0.9%
2,875 thousand+1.3%
2,858 thousand+0.6%
2,846 thousand+0.3%
2,849 thousand+0.8%
2,843 thousand+0.9%
2,842 thousand+0.9%
2,851 thousand+1.2%
2,850 thousand+1.2%
2,850 thousand+1.4%
2,838 thousand+0.8%
2,840 thousand+1.0%
2,841 thousand+1.1%
2,838 thousand+1.0%
2,841 thousand+1.4%
2,838 thousand+1.2%
2,826 thousand+0.5%
2,819 thousand+0.1%
2,817 thousand−0.1%
2,818 thousand0.0%
2,815 thousand+0.1%
2,811 thousand−0.1%
2,816 thousand0.0%
2,813 thousand+0.4%
2,809 thousand+0.4%
2,811 thousand+0.4%
2,801 thousand+1.8%
2,804 thousand+0.5%
2,813 thousand+1.0%
2,815 thousand+1.4%
2,821 thousand+2.1%
2,817 thousand+2.0%
2,812 thousand+2.2%
2,814 thousand+1.7%
How does it compare with the industries on the jobs by industry page?Ranked by the change over a year
Jobs in the information industry, in thousands beside the industries on the jobs by industry page, newest month of each, by the change over a year (ours); equal changes share a rank
SeriesMonthValueChange over a yearRank
Health care and social assistance23,959 thousand+2.2%1
Private education and health28,005 thousand+1.9%2
Utilities612 thousand+1.7%3
Construction8,364 thousand+1.3%4
Durable goods7,898 thousand+1.1%5
Professional, scientific, technical10,844 thousand+0.8%6
Accommodation and food services14,310 thousand+0.7%7
Goods-producing21,623 thousand+0.7%7
Other services6,039 thousand+0.6%9
Professional and business services22,482 thousand+0.6%9
Administrative, support, waste9,019 thousand+0.5%11
Private service-providing114,094 thousand+0.5%11
Total private135,717 thousand+0.5%11
Leisure and hospitality16,969 thousand+0.4%14
Wholesale trade6,078 thousand+0.4%14
Local government15,173 thousand+0.3%16
Manufacturing12,652 thousand+0.3%16
Mining and logging607 thousand+0.3%16
Service-providing137,421 thousand+0.3%16
Total nonfarm159,044 thousand+0.3%16
Retail trade15,480 thousand+0.2%21
Trade, transportation, utilities28,778 thousand+0.2%21
Mining, oil and gas extraction567 thousand+0.1%23
Private education4,046 thousand−0.1%24
Transportation and warehousing6,609 thousand−0.1%24
Management of companies2,620 thousand−0.3%26
State government5,472 thousand−0.5%27
Real estate, rental, leasing2,438 thousand−0.6%28
Government23,327 thousand−0.9%29
Nondurable goods4,754 thousand−0.9%29
Financial activities9,082 thousand−1.2%31
Finance and insurance6,645 thousand−1.4%32
Arts, entertainment, recreation2,659 thousand−1.6%33
Information2,739 thousand−4.2%34
Federal government2,682 thousand−8.0%35

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

Which industries are inside information?Newest month of each industry
The industries inside information, newest month of each: the count in thousands, its share of the page's industry and the change over a year (both ours); equal changes share a rank
IndustryMonthCountShareChange over a yearRank
Motion picture and sound recording industries329 thousand12.0%−5.8%6
Publishing industries880 thousand32.1%−3.6%2
Broadcasting and content providers328 thousand12.0%−4.2%3
Telecommunications565 thousand20.6%−5.1%5
Computing infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services454 thousand16.6%−4.7%4
Web search portals, libraries, archives, and other information services183 thousand6.7%+0.1%1

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

How many job openings, hires, quits and layoffs were there in information?Newest month of each measure
Job openings, hires, quits and layoffs in information, newest month of each measure, seasonally adjusted (Thousands (job openings at the end of the month; hires, quits and layoffs during it); rates in percent; the change over a year ours)
MeasureMonthCountRateChange over a yearWhere the count stands
Job openings123 thousand4.3%−12.8%the highest since August 2025
Hires44 thousand1.6%−36.2%the lowest since April 2020
Quits30 thousand1.1%−11.8%the highest since May 2026
Layoffs and discharges28 thousand1.0%−20.0%the lowest since December 2024

The table scrolls sideways; the first column stays in place.

What do these figures leave out, and how are they cited?Limits, dates and how to cite

What this number cannot tell you

  • BLS counts jobs, not people: a person with two jobs on two payrolls is counted twice. Farm jobs, the self-employed, unpaid family workers, private household workers and members of the military are not counted.
  • The count comes from a survey of employers, so each month's value carries sampling error. BLS revises each month twice in the two months after it is first published, and each February it benchmarks the series to a full count of jobs from unemployment insurance tax records and revises earlier values, so past values on this page can change.
  • BLS publishes this series from 1939.
  • The job openings, hires, quits and layoffs come from JOLTS, a separate survey of employers that BLS holds from December 2000 and publishes about a month after the payroll counts, so its newest month can be an earlier month than the count of jobs.
  • The counts of the industries inside it are shown in whole thousands, but BLS publishes those series to one decimal, so the changes, the ranks and the shares, which are ours and worked out from the values as BLS publishes them, can differ in their last place from those worked out from the values as shown.
  • The changes, the ranks and the highest and lowest values are ours, worked out from the values BLS publishes; a change is in percent.

Observed . Checked .

Observed .

How to cite this

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics, Information, seasonally adjusted, through September 2026, with U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, through August 2026. Compiled by 500metrics, "How many jobs are there in the information industry?", https://500metrics.com/jobs-by-industry/information.

Can the data be downloaded?jobs-by-industry-information.csv

Download the full history as CSV: 1,053 rows, to , 18,273 bytes.

Our text and compilation: CC BY 4.0.

Recession dates from the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Page updated