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"Labor Market Information (LMI) is an applied science; it is the systematic collection and analysis of data which describes and predicts the relationship between labor demand and supply." The States' Labor Market Information Review, ICESA, 1995, p. 7.

2022 Wyoming Workforce Annual Report

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Wyoming Labor Force Trends

June 2023 | Volume 60, No. 6


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Projected Job Openings for STEM Occupations in Wyoming

Article | Tables & Figures | Projections | STEM Occupations


by: Michael Moore, Research Supervisor

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has identified more than 100 science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations (BLS, 2022). As discussed in a recent article from the Research & Planning (R&P) section of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, STEM occupations made up approximately 4.6% of Wyoming’s total employment in 2022 (Hauf, 2023).

STEM occupations consist of computer and mathematical, architecture & engineering, and life & physical science occupations. In addition, STEM occupations also include managerial and postsecondary teaching occupations related to these areas, and sales occupations requiring scientific or technical knowledge at the postsecondary level. As noted by Hauf, these four occupational groups “encourage advanced education in science, technology, engineering, and math, along with other skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity.”

According to R&P’s most recent long-term occupational projections, the number of jobs in STEM occupations in Wyoming is projected to grow by 15.2% from 2020 to 2030, with more than 12,000 total openings in these occupations over the next 10 years. This article uses projections data to determine which STEM occupations are expected to have the greatest number of total openings over the next 10 years, along with the educational requirements typically required to enter these occupations.

More articles and data on STEM occupations in Wyoming are available at https://doe.state.wy.us/LMI/STEM.htm.

STEM Projections

R&P publishes long-term industry and occupational projections every other year. The most recent long-term projections were published during the spring of 2022, and indicated that Wyoming was projected to add more than 40,000 new jobs from 2020 to 2030 (Yetter, 2022).

In addition to new jobs attributed to growth, the long-term occupational projections also include the number of projected openings due to persons changing jobs (transfers) or leaving the workforce (exits). Total openings refers to the sum of growth, transfers, and exits.

Transfers and exits account for considerably more openings than growth. For example, the most-recent long-term projections showed 373,250 total openings from 2020 to 2030. Of the total, 202,603 (54.3%) were due to transfers, 128,957 (34.5%) were due to exits, and 41,690 (11.2%) were due to growth.

For this article, R&P looked at the 67 STEM occupations for which data were available in the 2020-2030 long-term occupational projections. The complete projections table for all 67 occupations is available in Table 2. The table also includes STEM occupations for which data were not discloseable due confidentiality. This means that those particular jobs were found in Wyoming, but either had too little data to publish, or at least 75% employment for a given occupation belonged to one employer.

From 2020 to 2030, Wyoming’s total STEM employment is projected to grow from 12,037 to 13,867 — an increase of 1,830 new jobs, or 15.2%. The projected growth rate of 15.2% is nearly twice the national average of 7.7% (Moore, 2023). Wyoming is projected to have 12,404 total openings in STEM occupations, including 2,958 due to exits and 7,616 due to transfers (see Table 1).

Figure 1 compares educational requirements for STEM occupations to the overall total, and shows the prevalence of postsecondary degrees in STEM occupations. Of the 373,250 total projected openings in Wyoming, nearly three of every four (73.2%) require a high school diploma or less, and 13.5% require a bachelor’s degree. In contrast, only two STEM occupations (7.4%) require less than an associate’s degree, while nearly two-thirds (65.3%) require a bachelor’s degree.

The 10 occupations with the greatest number of total projected openings are presented in Table 1. Civil engineers is projected to have 923 total openings from 2020 to 2030, including 208 due to growth (a 22.6% increase), 204 due to exits, and 511 due to transfers. This is an occupation that requires a bachelor’s degree. Software developers & software quality assurance analysts & testers is projected to have 517 total openings, including 152 growth openings; this is a 35.4% increase, the greatest projected growth increase of the occupations in Table 1.

Of the top 10 STEM occupations shown in Table 1, seven require a bachelor’s degree, two require an associate’s degree, and one requires some college, no degree.

Conclusion

Wyoming’s STEM occupations are projected to grow at nearly twice the national average from 2020 to 2030. During that period, Wyoming is projected to have 12,404 total openings in STEM occupations due to growth, people changing jobs, and people leaving the workforce.

The data presented in the table at the end of this article are valuable to jobseekers, educators, training providers, employers, and others. Projections data can help these individuals gain an understanding of the types of jobs that will need filled over the next 10 years, along with the education, experience, and training that those occupations typically require.

References

Hauf, D. (2023, February). Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations in Wyoming. Wyoming Labor Force Trends, 60(2). Research & Planning, WY DWS. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://doe.state.wy.us/LMI/trends/0223/a1.htm

Moore, M. (2023, January). Long-term projections for STEM occupations in Wyoming and the U.S., 2020-2030. Research & Planning, WY DWS. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://doe.state.wy.us/LMI/STEM/stem_wy_us.htm

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2022, February). Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics topics – STEM. Retrieved April 4, 2024, from https://tinyurl.com/2h3f4bb5

Yetter, L. (2022, August). Long-term industry and occupational projections, 2020-2030. Research & Planning, WY DWS. Retrieved April 24, 2023, from https://doe.state.wy.us/LMI/projections/2022/WY_LT_Projections_2020-2030_a1.htm