Among the key factors that labor economists examine for evidence of labor shortages are employment growth, wage growth, and unemployment rates relative to other occupations. As defined this way, the size of the S&E workforce in 2016 was approximately 6.9 million. Science and engineering employment was concentrated in two occupational groups—computer occupations and engineers—which together accounted for 81% of S&E jobs, with 57.6% and 23.6%, respectively. In 2016, the mean annual wage for all scientists and engineers was $94,450; the mean annual wage for all occupations—professional and nonprofessional—was $49,630. However, the unemployment rates for most S&E occupations were higher than the rates for some other professional occupations—including dentists (0.4%), physicians and surgeons (0.5%), lawyers (0.7%), and registered nurses (1.2%). The nominal growth rate of mean wages for all occupations during this period was 2.0% CAGR, while the fastest growth rate in the S&E occupational groups was for S&E managers (2.5% CAGR), followed by computer occupations (2.4% CAGR). All other S&E occupational groups had mean wage growth smaller than that of all occupations: life scientists (1.7% CAGR), engineers (1.5% CAGR), physical scientists (1.2% CAGR), and mathematic occupations (1.0% CAGR). Adjusted for inflation, mathematical occupations experienced a small decline (-0.1% CAGR) in mean wages between 2012 and 2016, while the other S&E occupational groups grew by less than 1.4% CAGR. Professional occupations (of which the S&E occupations are a part) historically have had lower unemployment rates than the overall workforce. As shown in Table 9 , S&E occupational groups had significantly lower unemployment rates than those of the overall workforce for the 2012-2016 period. In addition to the job openings created by growth in the number of jobs in S&E occupations, BLS projects that an additional 1.439 million scientists and engineers will exit the labor force due to factors such as retirement, death, and to care for family members. The BLS projections do not include data that allow for a quantitative analysis of how many new workers (those not in the labor market in 2016) will be required for openings created by job growth, labor force exits, and occupational transfers, as there is no detail to how many of the S&E openings are expected to be filled by workers transferring into these openings from S&E occupations and from non-S&E occupations (that is, some workers may transfer from one S&E occupation to another, some may transfer from an S&E occupations to a non-S&E occupations, and still others may transfer from a non-S&E occupation into an S&E occupations). Engineers —projected to account for 16.2% of total S&E job growth during the 2016-2026 period, below their 23.0% share of S&E employment in 2016, thus reducing their projected share of 2026 S&E employment to 22.3%; Life Scientists —projected to account for 3.8% of total S&E job growth during the 2016-2026 period, below their 4.5% share of S&E employment in 2016, thus reducing their projected share of 2026 S&E employment to 4.4%; and Physical S cientists —projected to account for 3.2% of total S&E job growth during the 2016-2026 period, below their 3.8% share of S&E employment in 2016, thus reducing their projected share of 2026 S&E employment to 3.7%. Concluding Observations

Scientists and engineers are widely believed to be essential to U.S. technological leadership, innovation, manufacturing, and services, and thus vital to U.S. economic strength, national defense, and other societal needs (e.g., treating and preventing diseases, ensuring access to affordable energy, protecting and restoring the environment). The adequacy of the U.S. science and engineering workforce has been an ongoing concern of Congress for more than 60 years. Congress has enacted many programs to support the education and development of scientists and engineers. Congress has also undertaken broad efforts to improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills to prepare a greater number of students to pursue science and engineering (S&E) degrees. Some policymakers have sought to increase the number of foreign scientists and engineers working in the United States through changes in visa and immigration policies. While there is a broad consensus on the important role of scientists and engineers in the United States, policymakers, business leaders, academicians, S&E professional society analysts, economists, and others hold diverse views with respect to the adequacy of the S&E workforce and related policy issues. In particular, there are varying perspectives about whether a shortage of scientists and engineers exists in the United States, what the nature of such a shortage might be (e.g., too few people with S&E degrees, a mismatch of worker skills and employer needs), and whether the federal government should undertake policy interventions to address a putative shortage or allow market forces to work in this labor market.
The adequacy of the U.S. science and engineering workforce has been an ongoing concern of Congress for more than 60 years. Scientists and engineers are widely believed to be essential to U.S. technological leadership, innovation, manufacturing, and services, and thus vital to U.S. economic strength, national defense, and other societal needs. Congress has enacted many programs to support the education and development of scientists and engineers. Congress has also undertaken broad efforts to improve science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills to prepare a greater number of students to pursue science and engineering (S&E) degrees. In addition, some policymakers have sought to increase the number of foreign scientists and engineers working in the United States through changes in visa and immigration policies.
Policymakers, business leaders, academicians, S&E professional society analysts, economists, and others hold diverse views with respect to the adequacy of the S&E workforce and related policy issues. These issues include whether a shortage of scientists and engineers exists in the United States, what the nature of such a shortage might be (e.g., too few people with S&E degrees, mismatched skills and needs), and whether the federal government should undertake policy interventions to address such a putative shortage or to allow market forces to work in this labor market. Among the key indicators used by labor economists to assess occupational labor shortages are employment growth, wage growth, and unemployment rates.
In 2016, there were 6.9 million scientists and engineers (as defined in this report) employed in the United States, accounting for 4.9% of total U.S. employment. Science and engineering employment was concentrated in two S&E occupational groups, computer occupations (57.6%) and engineers (23.6%), with the rest accounted for by S&E managers (8.4%), physical scientists (3.8%), life scientists (4.1%), and those in mathematical occupations (2.4%). From 2012 to 2016, S&E employment increased by 747,040, a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.9%, while overall U.S. employment grew by 1.9% CAGR. Viewed only in aggregate, the increase in S&E employment masks the varied degrees of growth and decline in detailed S&E occupations.
In 2016, the mean wage for all scientists and engineers was $94,450, while the mean wage for all other occupations was $49,630. Between 2012 and 2016, the nominal mean wages of the S&E occupational groups grew between 1.0% CAGR (mathematical occupations) and 2.5% CAGR (S&E managers). Inflation-adjusted wage growth for each of the S&E occupational groups was less than 1.4% CAGR, and in the case of mathematical occupations was negative. Nominal wage growth for all occupations in the economy was 2.0%; real wages grew by 0.9%.
Compared to the overall workforce, the S&E occupational groups had significantly lower unemployment rates for the 2012-2016 period. In general, though, the professional occupations (of which the S&E occupations are a part) historically have had lower unemployment rates than the workforce as a whole. In 2016, with the exception of life scientists, the unemployment rates for S&E occupational groups (2.0%-2.9%) were higher than other selected professional occupations, including lawyers (0.7%), physicians and surgeons (0.5%), dentists (0.4%), and registered nurses (1.2%). Life scientists had an unemployment rate of 0.6%.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects that the number of S&E jobs will grow by 853,600 between 2016 and 2026, a growth rate (1.1% CAGR) that is somewhat faster than that of the overall workforce (0.7%). In addition, BLS projects that 5.179 million scientists and engineers will be needed due to labor force exits and occupational transfers (referred to collectively as occupational separations). BLS projects the total number of openings in S&E due to growth, labor force exits, and occupational transfers between 2016 and 2026 to be 6.033 million, including 3.477 million in the computer occupations and 1.265 million in the engineering occupations.