Is U.S. Science and Technology Adrift?

During the second half of the 20th century, strong demand in the United States for trained science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) professionals fueled significant growth across all of science and its allied fields. But following years of robust growth, the STEM share of all U.S. employment has dropped to levels last seen during the mid-90s, according to a report entitled "Is U.S. Science and Technology Adrift?" which was  released by the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology (CPST).

The report finds that since 2001, STEM professionals have accounted for a declining share of total employment in the United States (see chart). The nation’s scientific and technical workforce is still growing, but it is now lagging behind the growth of the U.S. labor force as a whole.

Is U.S. Science and Technology Adrift? assesses the present condition of employment and compensation in STEM occupations and examines the status of science in the U.S. Highlights include:

• In 2006, STEM professionals accounted for 5.0% of all employed civilians in the U.S., down from 5.6% in both 2000 and 2001 (see chart).
• Between 1995 and 2002, information technology (IT) employment rose 75% faster than the rate of job growth for the general economy, but compensation scales for IT workers did not rise much above the modest improvement of about 7.7% in real income that applied to all employed persons.
• IT jobs account for more than 42% of all STEM employment, but the 1990’s boom in IT jobs has ended.
• There was a recovery of growth for mechanical engineers between 2003 and 2006, but employment in industrial engineering continued to decline.
• Within the three professions tied to the chemical industry, employment losses continued between 2003 and 2006, although losses in compensation declined for chemical technicians, and pay scales improved for chemists.
• Two larger STEM occupations have done well in recent years: aerospace engineering and medical scientists. Both of these occupations enjoyed above-average growth in employment between 2003 and 2006.