Associated Press (02/07/12) Michael Liedtke

A new report from the technology trade group TechNet indicates that 466,000 jobs have been created since 2007 due to rising demand for apps—the services and tools built to run on smart phones, computer tablets, and Facebook’s online social network. These include 311,000 jobs at companies that develop apps and 155,000 jobs created by local merchants as higher spending on apps enabled them to expand their businesses. Economist Michael Mandel, who compiled the report, says an increase in devices running on the Google, Research in Motion, and Microsoft operating systems and the emergence of Internet-connected appliances could further spur job creation.

The report calculates that one nontechnical job in sales, marketing, human resources, or other administrative areas is created for every new app programming job. Most of the apps jobs are located in the San Francisco Bay area, New York, and Seattle, but TechNet says they are popping up in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Phoenix as well.