Employment

This report compares state employment trends and distribution of state populations among selected industries and occupations, using data from the American Census Survey (ACS) 2009 1-year estimates. Employment figures for management, business and finance occupations; professional and related occupations; service occupations; and the manufacturing and information industries are included in this report. The population of interest is employed civilians 16 years of age and older.

View a PDF document of this page

Management, Business and Finance The District of Columbia had the highest percent of its working population in management, business and financial occupations in 2009, at 21.9%. Maryland had the second highest percentage (17.2%), followed by Virginia (17.1%) and Colorado (16.5%); Massachusetts (16.4%) rounded out the top five. On the other end, at 10.5% West Virginia had the lowest percent of its employed population in management, business and finance. Mississippi had the second lowest percentage (11.0%), with Louisiana (11.6%), Arkansas (11.8%) and Nevada (11.9%) the other states in the bottom five. The percent of the entire U.S. workforce in management, business and financial occupations in 2009 was 14.3%, which would place the nation 21st among the states. This is slightly up from the 14.0% in this occupational category in 2008 and 2007, and the 13.7% in 2006.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again, the District of Columbia had the highest percent employed in an occupational category, with 35.4% of its working population in professional and related occupations in 2009. Next was Massachusetts (26.6%) and then Maryland (26.1%), Vermont (25.1%) and Connecticut (24.5%). The five states with the lowest percent of their workforce in professional and related occupations were, in order from lowest to highest: Nevada (15.5%), Wyoming (17.9%), South Dakota (18.2%), Arkanasas (18.5%), and North Dakota (18.6%). 21.4% of the national workforce was employed in professional and related occupations in 2009, which would score 20th among the states. This is a slight increase from 2008 (20.9%), 2007 (20.5%) and 2006 (20.2%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nevada had the highest percent of its employed population in service occupations in 2009, coming in at 26.9%. Next up was Hawaii at 23.0%, followed by New Mexico (21.0%), Florida (20.1%) and Arizona (19.8%). Virginia (15.8%), New Hampshire (15.9%), Utah (16.0%), Alabama (16.3%) and Nebraska (16.4%) comprised the bottom five states with regard to percent employed in service occupations. 17.8% of the national workforce was employed in service occupations in 2009, which would be good for 19th in state rankings. This percentage was higher than the 17.1% in 2008, as well as the figures in 2007 (16.7%) and 2006 (16.5%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At 17.7%, Wisconsin had the highest percent of its working population in the manufacturing industry in 2009. Rounding out the top five were Indiana (17.6%), Michigan (16.0%), Ohio (14.9%) and Arkansas (14.7%). The District of Columbia had the lowest percentage, with only 1.6% of its workforce employed in manufacturing. Next was Hawaii (3.7%), followed by Alaska (3.9%), Nevada (4.0%), and New Mexico (5.0%). 10.5% of the national workforce was employed in manufacturing in 2009, which would place it 24th among states. This percentage was lower than 2008 (11.2%), 2007 (11.3%) and 2006 (11.6%) figures. Considering the well documented decline of the manufacturing industry in the United States, this decrease should not come as a surprise to many.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Employment in the information industry does not make up a high enough percent of total employment for differences between states to be very magnified—or to justify a graph. The range from the highest percentage, the District of Columbia at 4.3%, to the lowest, Mississippi at 1.4%, was only 2.9%. And even this small difference appears atypical of the category, as there is a relatively large dropoff between the number one state and number two, New Jersey, at 3.3%. Furthermore, the percent of the national workforce employed in the information industry has remained steady since 2005, even decreasing by a small margin since 2008. The 2.3% in 2009 just trailed 2008 (2.4%), 2007 and 2006 (2.5%). The 2.3% was good for 11th among the states . Why is this Important? The concentration of employed civilians within certain industries can say a lot about an area, be it a state, region, or the country as a whole. It can tell us something about its history, culture, and environment; and it can help us determine an area’s income levels and its economic viability moving forward. We know that certain occupations pay better than others; require certain materials or environments; are declining or increasing in relevance and viability; and are dependent on specific traditions of consumption or production. Knowing which areas are concentrated in particular industries gives us a better sense of their respective situations, and this knowledge can help inform important policy decisions and initiatives.