In 2002, there were about 256,000 wage and salary jobs in the industry. While the industry has both large and small firms, the average establishment in software publishing is relatively small; over half of the establishments employed fewer than 5 workers. About two-thirds of jobs, however, are found in a small number of establishments that employ 50 or more workers. Many small establishments in the industry are startup firms that hope to capitalize on a market niche.

Relative to the rest of the economy, there are significantly fewer workers 45 years of age and older in software publishing establishments; this industry’s workforce remains younger than most, with large proportions of workers in the 25-to-44 age range. This reflects the industry’s explosive growth in employment since the early 1980s. The huge increase in employment afforded numerous opportunities to younger workers possessing the latest technical skills.