March 23, 2000 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Strong growth in managerial and professional occupations in 1999

Nearly half of the total employment growth in 1999 was in the generally high-paying managerial and professional specialty occupations.

[Chart data—TXT]

Employment in managerial and professional specialty occupations expanded by 940,000 in 1999. Professional specialty occupations accounted for the majority of the growth in the managerial and professional specialty category. Notable employment gains occurred in many professional occupations, including computer system analysts and computer scientists, schoolteachers, lawyers, and social workers.

Technical, sales, and administrative support occupations also showed strong growth in 1999, accounting for two-fifths of total employment gains. In contrast, employment dropped in two types of occupations: service occupations and farming, forestry, and fishing occupations.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To find out more, see "The job market remains strong in 1999," by Jennifer Martel and Laura A. Kelter, Monthly Labor Review, February 2000. Employment changes discussed above are fourth quarter 1998 to fourth quarter 1999.