More Americas are directly employed by hunting and fishing than by oil and gas extraction, says a new report from the Outdoor Industry Association.
Outdoor recreation supports 7.6 million American jobs and $887 billion in consumer spending, making outdoor recreation one of America’s largest economic sectors.
Besides economic benefits, the report says that outdoor recreation is an “underappreciated and underfunded weapon against crime, poor academic performance and rising health care costs,” and contributes to quality of life that attracts employees to a community.
Outdoor Recreation Economy Report: outdoorindustry.org/ resource/2017-outdoor-recreation-economy-report/