by
David J. Peters
dpeters4@mail.state.mo.us
DOWNLOAD
REPORT
TM-0402-1.PDF (754KB)
Key Findings
According to 2000 estimates, there were 50,890 mathematics-intensive jobs in Missouri earning an annual mean wage of $53,193 per job, which is much higher than the state average wage of $30,812 per job.
Nationally, there were 2.94 million mathematics-intensive jobs earning an annual mean wage of $58,886 per job. Missouri employs 1.73% of this national total at 90.3% of the national mean annual wage, indicating lower labor costs for mathematics-intensive jobs
In Missouri, most mathematics-intensive jobs were in Services (21,060 jobs earning $55,898 per job), Manufacturing (12,180 jobs earning $53,194 per job), Finance, Insurance and Real Estate (4,810 jobs earning $50,659 per job), Public Administration (4,760 jobs earning $44,735 per job) and Transport and Public Utilities (4,650 jobs earning $57,044 per job).
In Missouri, mathematics-intensive occupations with the highest employment base were Accountants and Auditors (17,320 jobs at $44,390 per job), Computer Software Engineers (5,950 jobs at $65,182 per job), Computer Systems Engineers (3,700 jobs at $64,743 per job), Aerospace Engineers (3,330 jobs at $56,220 per job) and Civil Engineers (3,140 jobs at $55,866 per job).
Occupations with the largest percentage of national employment in Missouri were Agricultural Engineers (5.07% of national employment at 97.04% of national mean wages), Aerospace Engineers (4.65% of national employment at 81.43% of national mean wages) and Higher Education Engineering Teachers (3.64% of national employment at 100.62% of national mean wages). These occupations can be considered target occupations, since Missouri has a fair share of national employment and state wage rates are at or below the national mean annual wage - indicating lower labor costs, a possible competitive advantage.
As expected, Mathematics is the most important knowledge domain needed for mathematics-intensive occupations. Other relevant knowledge domains include Engineering and Technology and Computers and Electronics.
Missouri institutions of higher education are producing fewer college graduates in many of these fields of study than they did 20 years ago. The number of graduates obtaining any post secondary degree (bachelors, masters or doctorate) in mathematics and engineering has declined over the past 20 years.
More worrisome, however, is that only 8.28% of Missouri's 10th graders were proficient or advanced in mathematics. This indicates that Missouri's K-12 student population is ill prepared for post secondary study in mathematics-related subjects, and ill prepared to enter the workforce immediately after high school into occupations that require mathematics skills.
