Apple Provides 2.4 Million Direct and Indirect Jobs

2.4 million jobs are supported directly or indirectly by the US technology giant Apple (Apple). That's 20 percent more than the company's 2017 estimated (2 million), Reuters reported.

The company's direct workforce has increased from 80,000 to 90,000 in the two-and-a-half years since the last self-assessment of US jobs, the iPhone maker said.

Most of the expected growth came from companies such as Broadcom, which manufactures parts for Apple in the United States, and from third-party software developers who build applications for Apple devices.

The total number of Apple-related jobs was 1.9 million, an increase of 325,000 jobs from the company's previous estimate, according to a statement on the US tech giant's website.

Apple did not say how it arrived at its estimates or how the research was funded. Estimates of indirect job creation can vary widely depending on how the analysis is carried out. Estimates of job creation can vary widely, depending on how the analyzes are conducted.

The company has been criticized, including by the US President Donald Trump, for closing factories in the US to assemble most of its products in China.

Apple has said it has spent $ 60 billion in 2018 on products and services from suppliers based in the US, and plans to increase that cost to $ 350 billion by 2023.

In December, Apple announced that it would spend $ 1 billion to build a new centre in Austin, Texas for up to 15,000 employees, and that it has created direct jobs in Seattle, San Diego and Culver City, CA.