LinkedIn Users by Industry: List, Analysis and Rankings (2021)

LinkedIn is a social media platform that connects professionals and businesses with the goal of making it easier to find the right person for the job.

Having a LinkedIn account is significant for connecting with professionals and businesses, optimizing profiles, and identifying one’s industry and professional background. Maintaining active LinkedIn pages can significantly increase page views, impressions, and clicks per follower, as active LinkedIn pages receive more engagement.

In today’s blog post, we will take a look at how these industries have changed from 2019-2021 and what impact pandemics had on them. We will also list all of the industries that are available to you on Linkedin so that you know which niche best suits your skillset.

But first, a bit of history for those of you that are new to Linkedin’s industries. Every LinkedIn member is required to select from among 148 industries, which best reflects their professional activity.

You are required to choose an industry at first as a new member of the platform, but you can change it later. The popularity of these industries has changed over time, but the fact that you can search for profiles by industry makes it one of the most powerful tools for selling and searching for jobs.

LinkedIn Industries Benchmark and User Statistics

In our analysis of LinkedIn industries, we chose to benchmark the data from 2019 and 2021 by examining various LinkedIn statistics.

The following statistics show how different industries have changed over time:

• The most popular industry for professionals is “Information Technology and services.” In 2021, this category got more than 300000 new members. It now makes up 4% of all profiles on LinkedIn. LinkedIn user statistics reveal that IT professionals are among the most active users on the platform.
• Other areas that saw a significant increase are Marketing/Advertising (up 30%), STEM Jobs/Education (up 19%), and Health care Administration (up 13%). This could be due to the shift away from manufacturing jobs or other factors outside of either American’s control such as political climate changes abroad. LinkedIn business statistics highlight the growing importance of these sectors in the professional world.

While there was some movement among the industries, the top industries remained largely unchanged. The five most popular industries were “Information technology and services”, Hospital Health Care”, “Construction”, “Retail” and “Education management”.

Top 10 Linkedin Industry - 2021

The top 10 industries account for approximately 29% of LinkedIn’s users, which includes millions of LinkedIn members from these sectors. In these last 3 years, there have been few changes to the top industries ranked on LinkedIn. One major change is for the “Higher education” industry, which had a ranking of 11th in 2020 and jumped up to 9th today.

On the other hand, one of the few negative highlights was in the automotive industry, which fell to 10th place by 2021. Health care and pharmaceuticals, on the other hand, have seen a small increase in their number of people. Mental health care also had a significant increase, which could be due to the impact of pandemics.

There are no changes on the top three, which remained in the same order. The most popular industry for professionals in America is “Information technology and services” followed by “Hospital Health Care” and “Retail”.

LinkedIn ads have proven to be highly effective in reaching these LinkedIn members, especially for generating leads and increasing brand awareness.

Here is the full list of LinkedIn’s 148 industry categories available for you to select from, arranged by the number of people.

Linkedin Industry List (2021)

Selecting the right industry for your LinkedIn profile is crucial for increasing visibility and attracting potential employers and connections. Optimizing your LinkedIn profile by listing work experiences and showcasing your industry can significantly enhance your professional presence.

Using images in LinkedIn posts is essential to boost engagement and reach. Posts with images see higher comment rates, engagement rates, and overall performance.

Which industry is better, a small one or a big one?

Choosing a big industry will help you to be more visible. You will also have the opportunity of a wider audience and potentially higher exposure for your profile because these industries are popular with many people on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn Learning offers a wide range of courses in business, technology, personal development, and creative skills, which can help professionals in various industries enhance their expertise.

Choosing a small industry is good if you want to focus on one specific area or niche that needs people. For example, there may not be as many opportunities in the “Pizza Industry” compared to other larger industries like “Retail”.

Take some time today to check out what types of profiles exist under each category so that you can pick an appropriate career path that suits both your own skill set and interests!

Has the coronavirus pandemic affected rankings?

To answer that question, we’ll look at which industries saw the greatest variation in their rankings between 2019 and 2021. LinkedIn, which now has over 700 million users, provides valuable insights into these trends.

Microsoft acquired LinkedIn, which has significantly contributed to the platform's growth and integration with Microsoft Office tools, offering a unified experience for professionals.

It is possible to see the jump of the “Transportation” and “Packaging” sectors, which are closely linked to the observed push of e-commerce during this period. Lots of new opportunities have emerged for these two sectors that are likely to grow in the coming years.

The ever grown automotive industry, on the other hand, fell from 9th place last year (2019) to 10th this year (2021). This is because of decreasing demand and growth of overall new car sales during 2020-2021.

One notable development is the e-learning segment, which underwent a major metamorphosis and subsequent acceleration throughout the pandemics. It made an eight-point rise in rankings between 2019 and 2021. The e-learning industry has been expanding at a rapid pace due to the increasing number of people who want to learn new skills and have more flexibility in their working hours.

The major ranking declines are more widespread, though some patterns can be observed for industries that are heavily impacted by social isolation such as Music, Performing Arts, Media production, Aviation, and Sporting Goods.

Linkboost userbase compared to Linkedin members data

Linkboost has users in 125 of LinkedIn’s 148 sectors. This means that Linkboost has users in more than 85% of all industries.

LinkedIn usage has been steadily increasing, with the platform now boasting over 774 million users worldwide. This growth highlights the importance of leveraging LinkedIn for marketing and networking.

INDUSTRY Ranking Linkedin 2021 Ranking LinkBoost Marketing & Advertising 12 1 Information Technology and Services 1 2 Computer Software 8 3 Internet 22 4 Management Consulting 31 5 Professional Training & Coaching 57 6 Financial Services 6 7 Human Resources 26 8 Health, Welness & Fitness 14 9 Accounting 7 10

LinkBoost is a widely-used tool for building both authority and one’s personal brand, so it’s not surprising to see higher rankings in industries such as Marketing and Advertising, Coachings, Human Resources, and Consulting. LinkedIn marketers find LinkBoost particularly beneficial for B2B marketing, lead generation, and organic social marketing strategies, making it an essential tool for reaching key decision-makers and generating leads.

Why this is important for you?

Choosing the right niche is at the core of any successful sales or networking strategy. Narrowing down your focus to a more specific area will make it easier for you to generate accurate leads and stay within LinkedIn’s new limits, so don’t neglect this essential piece when planning out your campaign!

The best way to build authority is by sharing value (content, opinions) with the people that are in your niche target. This will help you connect and grow a solid following of potential customers who would be interested in what it is you have to offer them.

Linkboost is the best tool for quickly increasing your content’s reach to new and specific niches.

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