SelectUSA Professional Services Industry
Industry Overview
Professional services firms in the United States generated $2.8 trillion in combined revenue in 2022. As of mid-2024, the U.S. professional services industry employed over 11 million workers. In 2023, North America was the largest region in the professional services market, accounting for 36 percent of the global market share. The world’s leading professional services companies are located in the United States to serve the large and dynamic U.S. corporate sector.
The United States features a transparent, stable regulatory environment, strong intellectual property rights protection and enforcement, and a reliable judicial system. Together with a highly skilled workforce and intellectual leadership from the boardroom to the classroom, demand for professional services in the United States is unrivaled. Foreign direct investment in the professional services industry reached over $238 billion in 2023 and directly supported over 624,000 U.S. jobs in 2022.
The financial services industry in the United States is highly advanced and expansive, offering a robust financial infrastructure that supports both domestic and international economic activities. The industry, which includes subsectors such as banks, securities and investments, funds and trusts, and insurance carriers, added approximately $2.2 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2024.
The U.S. financial services industry employs a significant number of workers. According to SelectUSA’s Cluster Mapping dashboard, SelectUSA’s interactive, and data-driven tool designed for investors, companies, and economic development organizations to identify industry concentrations across the United States at the state and county level, the financial services industry cluster employs more than two million individuals. California, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, and Texas have a high employment share and a high concentration of employees compared to the nation as a whole in the financial services industry cluster. Meanwhile, the insurance services industry cluster employs more than 1.7 million individuals. Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Texas have a high employment share and a high concentration of employees compared to the nation as a whole in the insurance services industry cluster.
The United States is at the forefront of digital banking and fintech due to the highly developed and innovative tech industry. Furthermore, digital transformation and recent adoption of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain are likely to increase operational efficiency and create new revenue opportunities for firms in the financial services industry.
The United States is home to some of the world’s leading professional services companies. The industry encompasses a wide range of sectors, including legal, accounting, consulting, and architectural and engineering services.
The U.S. professional services industry typically requires highly skilled labor. According to SelectUSA’s Cluster Mapping dashboard, SelectUSA’s interactive, and data-driven tool designed for investors, companies, and economic development organizations to identify industry concentrations across the United States at the state and county level, the business services industry cluster employs nearly 15 million individuals. California, Florida, Illinois, Texas, and Virginia have a high employment share and a high concentration of employees compared to the nation as a whole in the business services industry cluster.
Firms in professional services industry are increasingly integrating technological advancements such as machine learning and artificial intelligence into their product offerings to improve both efficiency and the scope of their products.
The United States is the global leader in the software and information technology (IT) services industry, distinguished by its unmatched scale and advanced technical expertise. The industry which includes software publishers, data processing, hosting, and related services, and computer systems design and related services, added an estimated $1.1 trillion in value to the U.S. economy in 2024.
The U.S. software and IT services industry draws on a highly educated and skilled workforce. According to SelectUSA’s Cluster Mapping dashboard, SelectUSA’s interactive, and data-driven tool designed for investors, companies, and economic development organizations to identify industry concentrations across the United States at the state and county level, the software publishers industry subcluster, which belongs to the information technology and analytical instruments industry cluster, employs more than one million individuals. California, Massachusetts, Texas, Utah, and Washington have a high employment share and a high concentration of employees compared to the nation as a whole in the software publishers industry subcluster.
Recent advances in generative artificial intelligence (AI) models in the United States have created a new generation of software and IT solutions and increased efficiency and lowered the cost for integration services. Generative AI will continue to strengthen the U.S. software and IT services industry by boosting productivity and alleviating a developer skills bottleneck.
Aside from groundbreaking technological advancements, the U.S. industry also benefits from a supportive environment for the development of software and IT services in the terms of local regulations on data protection, intellectual property protection, and cybersecurity laws.
Explore the impact of foreign direct investment on U.S. jobs, exports, and innovation in the services industry.
The Investor Guide is a high-level view of everything from taxes to immigration and workforce to business structures.
SelectUSA has created several dashboards to help analyze key FDI data from a variety of sources.
