Experimental Statistics on the Space Economy Released
The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) has published new, experimental statistics on the U.S. space economy in the Survey of Current Business, including estimates of GDP, gross output, employment, and compensation by industry, covering 2012-2018.
These experimental statistics represent a collaborative effort to measure space activity within the U.S. economy. Additionally, they shed light for the first time on the contribution of space-related goods and services to the U.S. economy using a framework consistent with how the overall U.S. economy is measured. That means they can be used to compare the space sector to other U.S. industries and the overall U.S. economy.
The newly released experimental statistics show in 2018, the U.S. space economy accounted for $177.5 billion of gross output, 0.5 percent ($108.9 billion) of current-dollar GDP, $41.2 billion of private industry compensation, and supported more than 356,000 private sector jobs. Relative to the overall U.S. economy over the 2012–2018 study period, the space economy experienced slower growth in all four sets of statistics. Relatively slow growth over the period was driven mainly by the information and manufacturing sectors. Strong growth in the wholesale trade sector over the period partially offset declines in information and manufacturing output.
Gross output by industry and GDP (value added) by industry are both published as part of BEA's Space Economy Satellite Account, along with compensation and employment. The gross output of an industry is the market value of the goods and services produced by an industry. The primary component of gross output is revenue or receipts, but it also includes commodity taxes, other operating income, and inventory change.
The space economy accounted for $177.5 billion (0.5 percent) of U.S. gross output in 2018 (table 1). Two sectors dominated the space economy, information and manufacturing, and represented 61.7 percent of total space economy gross output in 2018. The information sector was the largest contributor to space economy gross output for all 7 years in the study (2012–2018). In 2018, the information sector contributed $61.4 billion to the space economy, or 34.6 percent of the total gross output estimate. The largest component of the information sector is the wired telecommunications carriers industry, which includes direct-to-home satellite television services.
Manufacturing was the second largest sector in terms of gross output, accounting for $48.1 billion of gross output in 2018. The share of gross output attributable to manufacturing decreased from 32.6 percent ($53 billion) in 2012 to 27.1 percent in 2018, mostly reflecting a decline in the computer and electronic products industry. This industry includes many space-related products, notably manufacturing of satellites; ground equipment; and search, detection, navigation, and guidance systems (GPS/PNT equipment). Almost 8 percent of the total U.S. gross output in 2018 for the computer and electronic products industry is attributable to the space economy. The second largest industry within manufacturing is other transportation equipment, which includes space vehicles and space weapons systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles. This industry contributed 9.8 percent, or $17.4 billion, to 2018 space economy gross output.
Although space economy gross output is concentrated in a couple of sectors, space activity can be seen in essentially every major sector of the U.S. economy. Many of the relatively small sectors in the space economy, such as agriculture, forestry, fishing, hunting, mining, and utilities, reflect production related to research and development (R&D) and remote sensing software and services.
Gross output for the space economy grew 1.5 percent, on average, from 2012–2018. Since these estimates are in current dollars, BEA says caution should be used when interpreting growth rates. Current-dollar estimates are not adjusted for inflation, so growth rates incorporate both changes in prices and changes in quantities. Growth throughout the period ranged from a high of 4.3 percent from 2012–2013 to a low of −0.9 percent from 2017–2018. Chart 1 shows the major contributors to growth for each year. In general, three sectors were driving growth: information, manufacturing, and wholesale trade. From 2012–2015, the information sector was the main source of growth in the space economy. Conversely, it was a major negative contributor for 2016–2018. This contraction corresponds to the decline in satellite television subscribers and revenue that began in 2016 (Satellite Industry Association 2019).
(Source: BEA)