If you read the previous post about the economic impact of beer on the State of California, here is the same press release, but for the entire country, all 50 states. I’ve removed the mostly duplicated paragraphs.
Here’s the relevant bits of the press release:
A new economic impact study shows America’s beer industry, made up of brewers, beer importers, beer distributors, brewer suppliers and retailers, directly and indirectly contributes more than $198 billion annually to the U.S. economy. The study, commissioned by the Beer Institute and the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), also shows that the industry provides nearly 1.9 million jobs — generating nearly $62 billion in wages and benefits. The industry also paid $41 billion in business, personal and consumption taxes in 2008.
According to the study, the beer industry directly employs more than one million people, paying $28 billion in wages. Beer sales help support roughly 888,000 retail jobs, including those at supermarkets, convenience stores, restaurants, bars, stadiums, and other outlets and generate more than $25 billion in economic activity in agriculture and manufacturing sectors
If you hunt around, you can find press releases for several other states, too.
And yes, that means that California accounts for 1/8 of the total beer market in the U.S.
I hope the politicians haven’t see this information! Something that good is just crying out to be taxed and regulated even further! 😉