Skills savvy: a skills-based look at occupational data

Do you like to analyze the reasoning in an argument? Or maybe you prefer to troubleshoot and repair broken mechanical equipment? If you do, then you enjoy using your critical and analytical thinking skills or your mechanical skills. These skills are just 2 of 17 work-related skills identified by the Employment Projections (EP) program at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).¹ Other skills include creativity and innovation, interpersonal, leadership, project management, and writing and reading. EP used a wide variety of data from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) to calculate skills scores that show how important these 17 skills are for each occupation for which BLS publishes projections data.

This article uses information from the EP and the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) programs at BLS to take a skills-based look at occupational data. The first half of this article looks at skills scores by various occupational characteristics, such as projected employment, typical entry-level education, and whether the occupation is classified as a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupation. In the second half, OEWS data are combined with skills and projections data to examine how occupations, industries, and geography interact. Critical and analytical thinking skills and mechanical skills are used to show two different occupational case studies.

Adaptability is an important skill across many different occupations

Skills that are important for many occupations tend to have higher average skills scores, and skills that are important for only some occupations tend to have lower average scores.² With an average score of 3.79, adaptability had the highest average skills score across all occupations in 2024. (See chart 1.) Detail oriented, interpersonal, and problem solving and decision-making skills are also important across many occupations, with average skills scores of approximately 3.5 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 5). While science and mechanical skills are very important for some occupations, these skills had skills scores of less than 2 when averaged across all occupations in 2024.

Detail oriented is the top skill for the two occupations projected to be the fastest growing

Chart 2 shows the skills with the highest skills score for the occupations projected to be the fastest growing occupations from 2024 to 2034. While adaptability has the highest skills score across all occupations, the occupations projected to be the fastest growing have a variety of different top skills. The two occupations projected to be the fastest growing, wind turbine service technicians and solar photovoltaic installers, have detail oriented as the most important skill. Although mathematics has a relatively low skills score across all occupations, it is the most important skill for 3 out of the top 10 occupations projected to be the fastest growing.

Home health and personal care aides occupation is projected to add the most jobs

The 15 occupations with the most projected job growth have a wide variety of top skills. In fact, the five occupations projected to add the most employment over the 2024–34 period each have a different top skill. (See chart 3.) Home health and personal care aides is expected to add the most jobs of any occupation from 2024 to 2034, accounting for roughly 1 of every 7 jobs added over the projections decade. The most important skill for home health and personal care aides is interpersonal. Computers and information technology is the most important skill for software developers, the occupation with the second-highest projected employment growth. The other most important skills for the top five occupations with the most projected job growth include detail oriented, customer service, and adaptability.

Interpersonal and customer service were the top skills for many of the largest occupations in 2024

For the largest occupations in 2024, people and communication skills were the top skills. (See chart 4.) Interpersonal and customer service were the most important skills for 5 out of the 6 largest occupations. Detail oriented and adaptability were the top skills for 6 out of the next 7 largest occupations. The fourth largest occupation, general and operations managers, had problem solving and decision making as the most important skill.

Occupations with higher typical entry-level educational requirements generally had higher skills scores in 2024

Most skills show a pattern of higher scores as typical entry-level educational requirements increase.³ For example, computers and information technology skills and writing and reading skills both had differences of 0.91 in average skills scores between the highest and lowest education groups.

However, there was also a sizable group of skills that had the highest scores for the middle education group, which typically requires a postsecondary nondegree award or an associate’s degree. In 2024, detail oriented, fine motor, physical strength and stamina, mechanical, and science all had higher importance in the occupations that require at least a postsecondary nondegree award but not a bachelor’s degree. (See chart 5.)

Computers and information technology had the highest difference in skills scores between STEM and non-STEM occupations in 2024

Chart 6 shows that the importance of computer and information technology skills was over 1 point higher, on average, in STEM occupations than in non-STEM occupations.⁴ In 2024, other skills that were more important in STEM occupations included critical and analytical thinking, mathematics, writing and reading, and science. However, physical strength and stamina was much more important in non-STEM occupations. Other skills that were more important in non-STEM occupations included customer service and interpersonal. Leadership was equally as important in STEM and non-STEM occupations.

In the second half of this article, EP skills and projections data are combined with OEWS data to present two case studies illustrating how the industry, geographic, and wage profiles of different skills may vary. The results show that industries and metropolitan areas with high critical and analytical thinking skills are often associated with high STEM concentrations. On the other hand, mechanical skills are often associated with mining, construction, or manufacturing.

Case study 1: Critical and analytical thinking skills

The first case study will consider industries, areas, and occupations with high scores for critical and analytical thinking skills. Occupations with high scores for critical and analytical thinking skills typically have above average wages and include some occupations with fast projected growth, such as actuaries and operations research analysts.

Critical and analytical thinking skills were important in several information, finance, and scientific and technical services industries

Several professional, scientific, and technical services industries had among the highest scores for critical and analytical thinking skills, including computer systems design and related services; scientific research and development services; and architectural, engineering, and related services.⁵ Industries with the highest scores for this skill also included several information industries, such as software publishers, and finance and insurance industries, such as securities, commodity contracts, and other financial investments and related activities. (See chart 7.)

In 2024, industries with high critical and analytical thinking scores often had high shares of STEM occupations. For example, STEM occupations made up 59.8 percent of employment in computer systems design and related services and 55.8 percent of employment in scientific research and development services, compared with 6.7 percent of overall employment.

Areas with high critical and analytical thinking scores often had high shares of STEM jobs

In 2024, metropolitan areas with the highest scores for critical and analytical thinking skills also typically had high concentrations of STEM employment. For example, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA, had one of the highest critical and analytical thinking scores of any area, as well as the highest share of STEM jobs: 21.1 percent of area employment, compared with 6.7 percent nationally. Lexington Park, MD (17.3 percent STEM employment); Boulder, CO (17.9 percent STEM employment); and Durham-Chapel Hill, NC (14.9 percent STEM employment), were also among the areas with the highest critical and analytical thinking scores.

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC; Kahului-Waikiki, HI; Yakima, WA; and Salinas, CA, were among the areas with the lowest scores for critical and analytical thinking skills; STEM jobs made up less than 3 percent of employment in each of these areas. (See chart 8.)

Charts 9 and 10 show wage and projections data, respectively, for the occupations with the highest critical and analytical thinking skills scores. The occupations in these charts have critical and analytical thinking skills scores of 4.1 or higher.  

Most occupations with the highest scores for critical and analytical thinking are paid above average wages

The following engineering occupations are among the occupations with the highest scores for critical and analytical thinking skills: aerospace engineers, nuclear engineers, chemical engineers, and bioengineers and biomedical engineers. Occupations with the highest scores for this skill also include mathematical occupations, such as actuaries and operations research analysts, and scientists, such as industrial-organizational psychologists and biochemists and biophysicists.

Except for legislators, all the occupations with the highest critical and analytical thinking scores had annual mean wages above the U.S. average wage of $67,920. Chief executives, with an annual mean wage of $262,930, was the highest paying of these occupations. (See chart 9.)

Employment of actuaries and operations research analysts is projected to grow by nearly 22 percent

Employment of actuaries and operations research analysts is projected to increase by 21.8 percent and 21.5 percent, respectively, from 2024 to 2034—much faster than the average of 3.1 percent for all occupations. Employment of epidemiologists (16.2 percent) is also projected to grow much faster than the average. Most of the remaining occupations with the highest critical and analytical thinking scores are expected to grow faster than the average or about as fast as the average, with the exception of nuclear engineers, which is projected to decrease in employment over the projections period. Among occupations with the highest scores for this skill, operations research analysts (24,100) and chief executives (13,300) are projected to add the largest number of jobs. (See chart 10.)

Case study 2: Mechanical skills

The second case study considers some industries, areas, and occupations with high mechanical skills scores. Wind turbine service technicians, an occupation with high mechanical skills scores, is projected to be the fastest growing occupation from 2024 to 2034.

Coal mining had one of the highest scores for mechanical skills

Several mining and extraction industries were among the industries with the highest scores for mechanical skills, including coal mining, metal ore mining, and nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying. Industries with the highest scores for mechanical skills also included several construction industries, such as building equipment contractors; utility system construction; and highway, street, and bridge construction. Other industries with high scores for mechanical skills included logging, inland water transportation, pipeline transportation, and industries providing repair and maintenance services, such as automotive repair and maintenance. (See chart 11.)

Areas with the highest scores for mechanical skills often had high concentrations of mining or manufacturing

Areas with the highest scores for mechanical skills included several areas with high employment concentrations of mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.⁶ For example, in May 2024, Midland, TX, had over 70 times the national employment concentration in mining industries as a percentage of area employment. Also, Odessa, TX; Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA; and Greeley, CO, all had high employment concentrations of mining and extraction.

Other areas with the highest mechanical skills scores had high employment concentrations in manufacturing, a sector with an above average score for this skill. These areas included Elkhart-Goshen, IN, which had a manufacturing employment concentration nearly six times the national average, as well as Dalton, GA; Decatur, AL; and Columbus, IN. (See chart 12.)

Charts 13 and 14 show wage and projections data, respectively, for the occupations with the highest mechanical skills scores. The occupations in these charts have mechanical skills scores of 3.7 or higher. 

Ship engineers and elevator and escalator installers and repairers had annual mean wages over $100,000 in 2024

Ship engineers, with an annual mean wage of $105,600, elevator and escalator installers and repairers ($104,860), and aircraft mechanics and service technicians ($80,780) were the highest paying occupations among those with the highest scores for mechanical skills. These three occupations all had annual mean wages above the U.S. average of $67,920. The remaining occupations with the highest mechanical skills scores had annual mean wages that were similar to or below the U.S. average wage. Aircraft service attendants ($43,630) and motorcycle mechanics ($49,650) were the lowest paying of these occupations. (See chart 13.)

Employment of wind turbine service technicians is projected to grow by nearly 50 percent from 2024 to 2034

The employment of wind turbine service technicians is projected to increase by 49.9 percent from 2024 to 2034, making it both the fastest growing occupation with a high mechanical skills score and the fastest growing occupation overall. However, because of the small size of the wind turbine service technicians occupation, it is projected to add fewer than 7,000 new jobs. Industrial machinery mechanics (16.1 percent) and farm equipment mechanics and service technicians (11.0 percent) are also projected to grow much faster than the average of 3.1 percent for all occupations. Industrial machinery mechanics is projected to add the largest number of new jobs (70,700) among occupations with the highest mechanical skills scores, followed by general maintenance and repair workers (62,400) and automotive service technicians and mechanics (33,600). (See chart 14.)

Summary

This article used information from the Employment Projections (EP) and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) programs at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to take a skills-based look at occupational data. The first half of the article presented an overview of skills scores by various occupational characteristics, including projected employment, typical entry-level education, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations. The results show that adaptability had the highest average skills score across all occupations in 2024. The occupations projected to grow the fastest over the projections decade had a wide variety of top skills, while interpersonal skills and customer service skills were often the most important skills for the jobs projected to add the most employment from 2024–34. The second half focused on critical and analytical thinking skills and mechanical skills to present two case studies on the relationship among occupations, industries, and geographic areas. The analysis in this article found that metropolitan areas with the highest scores for critical and analytical thinking skills also typically had high concentrations of STEM employment. The employment of actuaries and operations research analysts, two occupations with high skills scores for critical and analytical thinking, is projected to increase by 21.8 percent and 21.5 percent, respectively, from 2024 to 2034. Industries with high mechanical skills scores include mining and extraction industries and several construction industries, among others. Among the occupations with high mechanical skills scores, industrial machinery mechanics is expected to experience fast growth (16.1 percent) and the largest increase in employment over the 2024–34 period (70,700 new jobs).