Study: Meetings Generated $770 Billion in Economic Impact in 2012

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Originally posted on SuccessfulMeetings.com by Matt Alderton

In 2012, 1.83 million meetings were held in the United States, up from approximately 1.8 million in 2009, according to the Convention Industry Council (CIC), which today published an update to its 2009 study, The Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy.

"More meetings bring more jobs," CIC CEO Karen Kotowski said in a statement. "Meetings increased employment at a time when many industries didn't have the same opportunity. In 2012, meetings employed nearly 1.8 million people. That translates to 8.3 percent more jobs created by meetings in 2012 than in 2009, nearly double the average employment growth rate during that time."

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Impact of a Retiring Federal Workforce

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We've been hearing the warnings for years now, "The aging federal workforce will retire in droves - we need to prepare." While the "retirement tsunami" has not come to fruition (at least yet), there is still a real truth in the impact an aging workforce has on the government.

A GAO report found that the percentage of federal workers eligible to retire will roughly double by 2017. With a rough economy and general economic uncertainty, many people have deferred their retirement, but that trend seems to be changing with the retirement rate up to 3.5 percent in 2012, from 2.5 percent in 2009. What does this slower, but nonetheless meaningful, wave of retirements mean for the government and the industry partners that serve it?

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ModevGov: First Ever Conference Dedicated to Public Sector Mobile Development

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Originally posted on CTOvison.com by Bob Gourley

We recently told you about ModevGov, the first ever conference dedicated to public sector mobile development, design and management. With this post we want to underscore something else you should know.

This event is free to both government and to veterans.

Many veterans are moving into technology-centric professions including the hot new field of development for mobility solutions. If this describes you please check out this event. Find more at: http://gomodev.com/veterans-admitted-free-to-modevgov-feb-26/

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No Matter the Reason, Event Cancellations Are Bad News for Everyone

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Between an incredibly harsh winter (by most  standards), budget pressures, and the government shut down, the government event industry has seen more than its fair share of event cancellations over the past 12 months. A number of reports have come out detailing the impact of dwindling face-to-face networking on both event planners, attendees, and the economy in general.

First, to put the event industry in context, a report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers looked to define the "economic significance of meetings to the U.S. economy." The report found that overall the meetings industry was growing in response to increased demand. In 2012, there were nearly 225 million participants at meetings. That's approximately 20 million more than 2009. These meetings and attendee spending contributed $115 billion to the U.S. GDP and $28 billion to federal, state and local taxes. With that context, it is clear that meetings have an impact on the overall economy. If the rate of in-person events drops, even in just one sector like government, there will be an economic impact.

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