Serving up employment data on Pi Day

To celebrate Pi Day, we made some pie charts using U.S. economic data. For example, in 2025, women made up 47.1 percent of employed people age 16 and over and men accounted for 52.9 percent. By comparison, 75 years earlier, the workforce was 29.4 percent women and 70.6 percent men in 1950.

By educational attainment, more than half of employed people age 25 and older in 2025 had completed a bachelor’s degree, an associate degree, or at least some college coursework. People with less than a high school diploma accounted for 5.9 percent of the employed.

The private sector accounted for 85.2 percent of U.S. employment in 2025. Private service-providing industries, such as education and health services, leisure and hospitality, professional and business services, and trade and transportation, made up 71.6 percent of the total. Goods-producing industries, including mining and logging, construction, and manufacturing, accounted for 13.6 percent. The remaining 14.8 percent of employment was in local, state, or federal government. In 1950, the private sector accounted for 86.5 percent of total employment. Private service-providing industries were 48.2 percent, goods-producing industries were 38.3 percent, and government made up 13.5 percent. 

Focusing on what workers do on the job, 35.7 percent of jobs in May 2024 were in management, business, science, and arts occupations including healthcare practitioners and technical. Service occupations, including healthcare support, protective service, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, and food preparation and serving, made up 21.0 percent. Speaking of food preparation, if our pie charts piqued your interest in baking, you can learn more about bakers in the Occupational Outlook Handbook.

These data are from the Current Population Survey, Current Employment Statistics, and Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics programs. Annual data are not seasonally adjusted.