Marijuana Business Factbook 2019

298 Marijuana Business Factbook 2019 Appendix © Copyright 2020, Marijuana Business Daily , a division of Anne Holland Ventures Inc. You may NOT copy this Factbook, or make public the data and facts contained herein, in part or in whole. For more copies or editorial permissions, contact CustomerService@MJBizDaily.com or call (720) 213-5992, ext. 1. Employment and Number of Companies Estimates Full-time equivalent workers are used to estimate total employment in the cannabis industry. Using full-time equivalent workers allows us to standardize employment estimates, equating the hours worked by several part-time employees into the hours worked by fulltime employees. Two part-time employees working 20 hours per week, for example, would be the equivalent of one full-time worker. This allows for more accurate comparisons to other industries and is especially useful in the marijuana space where part-time or seasonal staff ― such as trimmers or budtenders ― represent a sizable portion of the workforce. Research by the Marijuana Policy Group on the effect of the marijuana industry on Colorado’s economy suggests that for every $64,000 in cannabis sales the equivalent of one full-time job is created at a company that works directly with the marijuana plant ― such as an extraction technician at an infused products company or a budtender at a retail store. This ratio ― one full-time equivalent worker at a plant-touching company for every $64,000 in marijuana sales ― applies to Colorado specifically and will vary from state to state based on market and regulatory conditions. However, it serves as a useful benchmark by which to guide employment estimates for the US cannabis industry. We combine these benchmarks with a variety of additional sources ― such as survey data on the average number of employees for each overarching type of company in the industry and estimated number of companies in each sector ― to arrive at a rough idea of how many employees work in the industry. Note that the employment numbers do not include every worker at ancillary companies that touch the industry in some capacity. The employment numbers also do not include every worker at ancillary companies that touch the industry in some capacity. Rather, they reflect our best estimate of how many people work at companies that derive all or a significant portion of their revenue from cannabis. So employees at a local heating and cooling company that has worked with, say, one or two marijuana clients but generates most of its revenue from mainstream customers are not included. We then apply the average rate of projected retail sales growth each year to the job total, providing an idea of how employment could increase in the coming years. Got questions or input? We are always delighted to hear from folks in the field with their questions, concerns, data and experiences. Please feel free to contact us at CustomerService@MJBizDaily.com or (720) 213-5992, ext. 1. Also, to keep up with news and developments throughout the year, be sure to sign up for Marijuana Business Daily’s free newsletter and watch for our Chart of the Week feature every Tuesday.