US cannabis employment could climb nearly 50% in 2020, surpassing computer programmers

The number of people working in the U.S. cannabis industry is expected to jump to 240,000-295,000 by the end of 2020, slightly higher than the number of computer programmers employed in the United States.

The anticipated rise in cannabis employment represents a nearly 50% increase over 2019 levels, which was estimated at 165,000-210,000 in the newly released Marijuana Business Factbook.

Cannabis employees include people directly working in the sector, such as budtenders and extraction technicians, as well as employees of ancillary companies – think consultants and lawyers – who support the marijuana industry.