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UAS industry could create 70,000 U.S. jobs: study

Integration is scheduled to take place in 2015. Beyond the first
three years, the study projects that more than 100,000 new jobs will be
created by 2025.
 
“This is an incredibly exciting time for an
industry developing technology that will benefit society, as well as the
economy,” said Michael Toscano, president & CEO of AUVSI.  “In
recent years, unmanned aircraft technology has grown remarkably and is
already proving useful in a range of domestic applications. Integrating
UAS into the national airspace will lead to new and expanded uses, which
means the creation of quality, high-paying American jobs.”
 
Specifically, the study finds:
 
•    In the first three years following integration into the NAS, more than 70,000 new jobs will be created.
 
•   
In the first three years following integration, the total economic
impact stemming from the integration is projected to surpass $13.6
billion and will grow sustainably for the foreseeable future, cumulating
in more than $82.1 billion in impact between 2015 and 2025. Economic
impact includes the monies that flow to manufacturers and suppliers from
the sale of new products as well as the taxes and monies that flow into
communities and support the local businesses.
 
•    The study
projects integration will lead to 103,776 new jobs nationally by 2025.
Many of these jobs are portable and will gravitate toward states with
favorable regulatory structures and infrastructure. Future events – such
as the establishment of FAA Test Sites – will ultimately determine
where many of these new jobs will flow.
 
•    Additional economic
benefit will be seen through tax revenue to the states, which will
total more than $482 million in the first decade following the
integration.
 
•    Every year that integration is delayed, the
United States loses more than $10 billion in potential economic impact.
This translates to a loss of $27.6 million per day that UAS are not
integrated into the NAS.
 
The complete study, including state-by-state breakdowns of economic impact projections, is available at http://www.auvsi.org/econreport.
 
“While
we project more than 100,000 new jobs by 2025, states that create
favorable regulatory and business environments for the industry and the
technology will likely siphon jobs away from states that do not,” wrote
the report’s author, Darryl Jenkins, a past professor at George
Washington University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.
 
Nationally,
the precision agriculture industry is expected to be the largest market
for UAS technology, the AUVSI study finds. UAS will help farmers
monitor crops and distribute pesticides, which could not only help
improve efficiency, but also reduce the total amount of pesticides
sprayed, saving money and reducing environmental impact. The public
safety sector is another area that will benefit from the tremendous
potential for UAS technology. UAS have the capability to help police and
firefighters— who put themselves into harm’s way every day to protect
the communities they serve — do their job safely and efficiently.
 
The
report was commissioned by AUVSI and developed by Jenkins, an aviation
industry economist with more than 30 years of experience. Mr. Jenkins is
the author of the Handbook of Airline Economics and previously served
as the director of the Aviation Institute at George Washington
University in Washington, D.C.