Emurse

In 2004, there were about 1.1 million wage and salary jobs, and an additional 132,000 self-employed and unpaid family workers. Most self-employed workers are independent consultants.

While the industry has both large and small firms, the average establishment in computer systems design and related services is relatively small; about 78 percent of establishments employed fewer than 5 workers in 2004. The majority of jobs, however, are found in establishments that employ 20 or more workers (chart 1). Many small establishments in the industry are startup firms that hope to capitalize on a market niche.

Compared with the rest of the economy, there are significantly fewer workers 45 years of age and older; this industry's workforce remains younger than most, with large proportions of workers in the 25-to-44 age range (table 1). This reflects the industry's explosive growth in employment over the last two decades. The huge increase in employment afforded thousands of opportunities to younger workers possessing the newest technological skills.