Employment for Statisticians

Statisticians held about 22,000 jobs in 2006. About 20 percent of these jobs were in the Federal Government, where statisticians were concentrated in the Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services. Another 10 percent were found in State and local governments, including State colleges and universities. Most of the remaining jobs were in private industry, especially in scientific research and development services, insurance carriers, and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing.

Average employment growth is projected. Individuals with a degree in statistics should have opportunities in a variety of fields.

Employment change. Employment of statisticians is projected to grow 9 percent from 2006 to 2016, about as fast as the average for all occupations. The demand for individuals with a background is statistics is expected to grow, although some jobs will be in occupations with titles other than “statistician.”

The use of statistics is widespread and growing. Statistical models aid in decision making in both private industry and government. There will always be a demand for the skills statistical modeling provides. Technological advances are expected to spur demand for statisticians. Ever faster computer processing allows statisticians to analyze greater amounts of data much more quickly, and to gather and sort through large amounts of data that would not have been analyzed in the past. As these processes continue to become more efficient and less expensive, an increasing number of employers will want to employ statisticians to take advantage of the new information available.

Biostatisticians should experience employment growth, primarily because of the booming pharmaceuticals business. As pharmaceutical companies develop new treatments and medical technologies, biostatisticians will be needed to do research and clinical trials.

Job prospects. Individuals with a degree in statistics should have opportunities in a variety of fields. For example, many jobs involve the analysis and interpretation of data from economics, biological science, psychology, computer software engineering, education, and other disciplines. Additional job openings will become available as statisticians transfer to other occupations, retire, or leave the workforce for other reasons.

Among graduates with a master’s degree in statistics, those with a strong background in an allied field, such as finance, biology, engineering, or computer science, should have the best prospects of finding jobs related to their field of study.

Those who meet State certification requirements may become high school statistics teachers.