Chapter 3: Science and Engineering Labor Force

Chapter 3:

Highlights

Science and Engineering Labor Force

Since 1980, the number of nonacademic science and engineering jobs has grown at more than four times the rate of the U.S. labor force as a whole. Nonacademic S&E jobs increased by 159 percent between 1980 and 2000, an average annual growth rate of 4.9 percent (compared with 1.1 percent for the entire labor force). (More...)
Even among S&E bachelor's degree holders working in non-S&E occupations, more than two-thirds reported that their job related to their field of degree. Because individuals use S&E knowledge in a wide variety of areas, a purely occupation-based definition of the S&E labor force is too limiting. (More...)
Barring changes in degree production or in immigration, the S&E labor force will grow at a slower rate and the average age of scientists and engineers will increase. The age distribution of individuals with S&E degrees implies this change. (More...)

The total number of retirements among S&E-degreed workers will increase dramatically over the next 20 years, barring large changes in retirement rates. More than half of S&E-degreed workers are age 40 or older, and the 40–44 age group is nearly four times as large as the 60–64 age group. (More...)
Labor market conditions for individuals with S&E degrees improved during the 1990s; however, unemployment in S&E occupations reached a 20-year high in 2002. Holders of S&E bachelor's degrees had lower unemployment rates and were significantly more likely to work in jobs related to their degree in 1999 compared with 1993. However, by 2002, overall unemployment rates for individuals in S&E occupations (regardless of education) had risen to 3.9 percent. (More...)
The share of foreign-born scientists and engineers in the U.S. S&E workforce rose to a record in 2000, reflecting high levels of entry by both permanent and temporary visa holders during the 1990s. Data from the 2000 U.S. Census show that, in S&E occupations, approximately 17 percent of bachelor's degree holders, 29 percent of master's degree holders, and 38 percent of doctorate holders are foreign born. (More...)

A decline in student, exchange, and temporary high-skilled worker visas issued since 2001 interrupted a long-term trend of growth. The number of student visas and of temporary high-skilled worker visas issued both declined by more than one-fourth since FY 2001. These declines were due both to fewer applications and to an increase in the proportion of visa applications rejected. (More...)
There is increased recruitment of high-skilled labor, including scientists and engineers, by many national governments and private firms. For example, in 1999, 241,000 individuals entered Japan with temporary high-skill work visas, a 75 percent increase over 1992. (More...)