Economists
Government and Public AdministrationO*NET 19-3011.00United States
Conduct research, prepare reports, or formulate plans to address economic problems related to the production and distribution of goods and services or monetary and fiscal policy. May collect and process economic and statistical data using sampling techniques and econometric methods.
- Median annual earnings
- $125,451
- Projected change
- +3.7%
- Typical education
- Master's or Professional degree
- Employment
- 20.41K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
50% of the workforce
Growing to 21.17K by 2035
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The work
What economists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Study economic and statistical data in area of specialization, such as finance, labor, or agriculture.
- Compile, analyze, and report data to explain economic phenomena and forecast market trends, applying mathematical models and statistical techniques.
- Study the socioeconomic impacts of new public policies, such as proposed legislation, taxes, services, and regulations.
- Explain economic impact of policies to the public.
- Review documents written by others.
- Provide advice and consultation on economic relationships to businesses, public and private agencies, and other employers.
- Formulate recommendations, policies, or plans to solve economic problems or to interpret markets.
- Conduct research on economic issues, and disseminate research findings through technical reports or scientific articles in journals.
- Supervise research projects and students' study projects.
- Develop economic guidelines and standards, and prepare points of view used in forecasting trends and formulating economic policy.
- Teach theories, principles, and methods of economics.
- Testify at regulatory or legislative hearings concerning the estimated effects of changes in legislation or public policy, and present recommendations based on cost-benefit analyses.
- Provide litigation support, such as writing reports for expert testimony or testifying as an expert witness.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $66,245
- 25th percentile
- $88,869
- 50th percentile
- $125,451
- 75th percentile
- $178,019
- 90th percentile
- $243,221
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $125,451 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+3.7%average or slower
202520,413 jobs
2035 projected21,174 jobs
761 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Master's or Professional degree
- 50%
- Doctoral degree or more
- 29.2%
- Bachelor's degree
- 20.8%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Persuasion
- Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Economists676 postings
- 02Medical Economics Analysts365 postings
- 03Energy Consultants127 postings
- 04Resource Planning Managers115 postings
- 05Financial Economists113 postings
- 06Economic Analysts98 postings
- 07Lead Economists93 postings
- 08Labor Economists92 postings
- 09Research Economists86 postings
- 10Economic Consultants69 postings
- 11Energy Associates69 postings
- 12Analytics Consultants68 postings
- 13Monetization Specialists66 postings
- 14Client Value Managers61 postings
- 15Health Economics Managers59 postings
- 16Placement Consultants58 postings
- 17Small Business Owners58 postings
- 18Chief Economists52 postings
- 19Recycling Managers52 postings
- 20Analysts51 postings
Top employers
- 01Cadmus International Limited330 postings
- 02Amazon305 postings
- 03Molina Healthcare112 postings
- 04The Hartford95 postings
- 05Pfizer85 postings
- 06American Institutes For Research81 postings
- 07District Of Columbia Courts63 postings
- 08Turing58 postings
- 09Stiftelsen Norstella53 postings
- 10UKG53 postings
- 11Amgen51 postings
- 12Dodge Construction Network51 postings
- 13Federal Reserve Bank51 postings
- 14Waste Management51 postings
- 15Lumen Technologies49 postings
- 16Insight Global47 postings
- 17Intermountain Health47 postings
- 18Deloitte44 postings
- 19Marathon Petroleum44 postings
- 20CVS Health43 postings
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