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Federal employment growth: IT and math projected to lead

Ryan Farrell and Maria Hussain | April 2022

Which occupations in the federal government are projected to have the fastest employment growth from 2020 to 2030? Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) can answer that question. Hint: most of the occupations are related to information technology (IT) or math.

Employment in some occupations is projected to increase, despite an expected decline in federal employment overall. As the chart shows, federal employment in occupations that focus on IT or math is projected to grow faster than the 8-percent average for occupations across all industries from 2020 to 2030. And each of these occupations had a median annual wage greater than the $71,120 median annual wage for all workers in the federal government in 2021.

Statisticians, projected to have the fastest federal employment growth (23 percent), is one of two occupations in the chart that typically require a master’s degree for entry. The other occupation, computer and information research scientists, is projected to grow 13 percent over the decade. The remaining occupations typically require a bachelor’s degree, with three also needing related work experience.

Visit the Occupational Outlook Handbook to learn about the job duties, education requirements, wages, and more for the occupations in the chart and hundreds of others.