The release today of the latest jobs report by the U.S. Labor Department is a reminder about how significant a role the beverage industry plays in the country’s economy.

Our products keep a lot of enterprises going, not just our own. Grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants and theaters all rely on beverages to help pay the bills and their employees. Our presence is felt in communities nationwide.

We have a direct economic impact of $169 billion and our companies employ directly nearly 240,000 people. The industry also helps support hundreds of thousands more Americans who depend, in part, on beverage sales for their livelihoods.

America’s beverage industry provides $21.1 billion in wages to its employees. Beverage companies, their employees, and the firms and employees directly employed by the industry, provide significant tax revenues - $13.6 billion at the state level and $22.9 billion at the federal level.

For more than a hundred years American beverage companies have been a source of opportunity and economic strength for the country as well as for the millions of workers who have been bringing people the products they know and love.

To learn more about the work our member companies are doing in communities across the country visit DeliveringChoices.org.