Engineers design and operate production processes and create new products and services. This indicator represents the percentage of trained engineers in a state's workforce. It includes the standard occupational codes for engineering fields: aerospace, agricultural, biomedical, chemical, civil, computer hardware, electrical and electronics, environmental, industrial, marine and naval architectural, materials, mechanical, mining and geological, nuclear, and petroleum. Occupations also include postsecondary teachers in these fields.

Data on individuals in engineering occupations and total occupations come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Survey, a survey of workplaces that assigns workers to a state based on where they work. Estimates are developed by BLS from data provided by state workforce agencies. The OEWS Survey covers all full-time and part-time wage and salary workers in nonfarm industries. The survey does not cover the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family workers. Estimates for states with smaller populations are generally less precise than estimates for states with larger populations.

Data source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey.