New Commerce Report Explores High Paying, Fast Growing Data Jobs

Washington, D.C. – March 13, 2015 – The Department of Commerce’s Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA) released a new report today, entitled “The Importance of Data Occupations in the U.S. Economy,” that explores the importance of data jobs and their impact on the U.S. economy.

“Our report found that data occupations pay more than average, and employment in these data-intensive industries has been growing faster than overall employment,” said Under Secretary for Economic Affairs, Dr. Mark Doms. “Our society increasingly depends on the intelligent use of data, whether making our businesses more competitive, our governments smarter, or our citizens better informed. This report reveals a new dimension to the value of data as an employment engine driving innovation and economic growth.”

Key highlights of the new report include:

Over half the American workforce, 60 million people, work with data in their jobs.

Data analysis and processing are central to 8.6 million private sector jobs.

Over the past ten years, data jobs have grown 4 times faster than the rest of the private sector, adding 1.8 million jobs representing 31 percent of total private sector job growth.

Jobs in the data sector pay on average $40/hour, 68% more than the average private sector job.

Click here for the full report.

This new ESA-led report on data jobs is part of a series of reports authored by the Office of the Chief Economist for the Department of Commerce. The first report released July, 2014, entitled “Fostering Innovation, Creating Jobs, Driving Better Decisions: The Value of Government Data”, explored the huge benefits from a relatively small investment in our nation’s statistical agencies.

The mission of the Economics and Statistics Administration is to provide high-quality economic analysis and foster the missions of the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Join us on the web at www.esa.gov , find us on Facebook, and on Twitter @esaundersec.

Sign up to receive ESA information including the latest economic indicators as they become available: http://www.esa.doc.gov/about-economic-indicators.

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