It’s no surprise that the German automobile industry has joined the App Economy. As of May 2023, Bertrandt, a leading supplier to the auto industry, was looking for an iOS and Android App Developer in Munich to help conceive and develop next-generation mobile apps and connected car apps. Meanwhile, MBition, a Berlin-based subsidiary of the Mercedes-Benz Group, was looking for a Test Engineer for Mobile Apps Testing to help deliver the next generation of in-car infotainment software.
But the Germany App Economy is not just about automobiles. Blinkist, an app that finds impactful books and distills them down to their key ideas, was looking for a Senior iOS Engineer and an Android developer in Berlin. From manufacturing to books to health and everything between, the German App Economy includes 633,000 jobs. That’s according to the Progressive Policy Institute’s latest estimate, and it’s up 38% from our pre-pandemic 2019 estimate.
None of these jobs existed 15 years ago, when Apple first opened the App Store on July 10, 2008, in the middle of the global financial crisis. Android Market (which later became Google Play) was announced by Google shortly after. These app stores created a new route through which software developers could write programs for smartphones. These mobile applications — called “apps” — could then be distributed to the rapidly growing number of smartphone users around the world.
The jobs generated by the app stores became an important part of the recovery from the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the subsequent economic expansion, and the response to the pandemic. More than that, app development and the app stores became a key route by which young people can develop tech skills and became an integral part of the digital economy.
This report describes some important aspects of the German App Economy. We also give some examples of App Economy jobs and skills development.
