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Workforce
Quartiles | Findings | Description
Individuals in S&E occupations as share of workforce: 2003
Individuals in S&E occupations as share of workforce: 2003
Quartiles
Individuals in S&E occupations as share of workforce: 2003*
| 1st Quartile (19.84%–3.92%) |
2nd Quartile (3.90%–3.35%) |
3rd Quartile (3.28%–2.53%) |
4th Quartile (2.49%–1.77%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | Alaska | Alabama | Arkansas |
| Colorado | Arizona | Florida | Iowa |
| Connecticut | Georgia | Hawaii | Kentucky |
| Delaware | Idaho | Indiana | Louisiana |
| District of Columbia | Illinois | Missouri | Maine |
| Maryland | Kansas | Montana | Mississippi |
| Massachusetts | Michigan | Nebraska | Nevada |
| Minnesota | New Hampshire | New York | North Dakota |
| New Jersey | North Carolina | Ohio | South Dakota |
| New Mexico | Oregon | Oklahoma | Tennessee |
| Utah | Rhode Island | Pennsylvania | West Virginia |
| Virginia | Texas | South Carolina | Wyoming |
| Washington | Vermont | Wisconsin | |
| *States in alphabetical order, not data order.
SOURCES: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates; and Local Area Unemployment Statistics. See |
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Findings
- In 2003, 3.6% of the U.S. workforce, or about 5 million people, worked in occupations classified as S&E.
- In individual states in 2003, the percentage of the workforce engaged in S&E occupations ranged from 1.77% to 5.79%.
- The District of Columbia was an outlier at 19.84%, reflecting the many S&E jobs it provides for individuals who work there but live in neighboring states.
- States located in the Northeast, Southwest, and West Coast tended to be in the top two quartiles on this indicator, signifying a high concentration of S&E jobs.
Description
This indicator shows the extent to which a state’s workforce is college educated and employed in science and engineering occupations. A high value for this indicator shows that a state’s economy has a high percentage of technical jobs relative to other states.
S&E occupations are defined by 77 standard occupational codes that encompass mathematical, computer, life, physical, and social scientists; engineers; and postsecondary teachers in any of these S&E fields. People with job titles such as manager are excluded.
The location of S&E occupations primarily reflects where the individuals work and is based on estimates from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, a cooperative program between the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and state employment security agencies. Civilian workforce data are BLS estimates based on the Current Population Survey, which assigns workers to a location based on residence. Because of this difference and the sample-based nature of the data, estimates for sparsely populated states and the District of Columbia may be imprecise.
