Industrial bioeconomy contributes to domestic jobs, drives wages

Biomanufacturing contributed $210 billion to the U.S gross domestic product and 644,000 domestic jobs from leading heartland states, according to a 2023 bioeconomy report.

The report identifies industries in the bioeconomy to describe a growing workforce. These six categories are industrially processed bio feedstocks, traditional biofuel, industrial bioproducts, advanced biofuels, production and processing equipment, development services and university and national research and development.

The bioeconomy is closely tied to agriculture, with feedstock from production of ethanol, biodiesel and Southeast timber products.

The report was commissioned by trade groups and companies including the Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Clean Fuels Alliance America, National Corn Growers Association, Growth Energy, Renewable Fuels Association, ADM, Aemetis, Bayer, Bunge, Marquis Energy, Novozymes and POET.

Top states for economic output in the bioeconomy in 2023 were Illinois, Iowa, California, Nebraska and Minnesota, which are also leaders in biofuel production.

The industry includes 43,600 manufacturing jobs, 5,950 research roles, and 644,000 domestic jobs across various sectors including agriculture. 

These roles range from production to the sales of renewed biomass products such as fertilizers and bio-lubricants, along with research developments in microbes, enzymes and biocatalysts.

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“Relative to other industrial sectors, the extended domestic supply chain of the U.S. industrial bioeconomy generates outsized secondary economic benefits,” said the authors at TEConomy Partners, LLC. 

The average industrial bioeconomy worker earned $133,600 annually, with each job providing an additional 11.08 jobs, indirectly or induced.

The report asserts that the industry “cannot be economically sourced overseas.” Production relies on bulk commodity inputs, waste streams and biomass produced domestically.