Geoscience Profession Data

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March 19, 2025

The latest employment data from the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Population Survey reports that the monthly average number of working geoscientists in the United States stood at 309,530 as of February 2025, down 1% from January 2025. Between January 2025 and February 2025, the largest declines occurred in geotechnical engineering (-9%), conservation science (-17%), and petroleum, mining, and geological engineering (-13%). Other notable declines in employment included geoscience engineering managers (-16%) and environmental science and geoscience occupations (-1%). In contrast, the largest increases in employment occurred in environmental engineering (+12%) and environmental and geoscience technician (+24%) occupations.

Additionally, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Establishment Data (Table B-1) revealed sector-specific trends, which drive changes in overall geoscience employment:

• Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: This sector employs just over one-third of geoscientists covering a range of occupations across the industry’s subsectors. Computing-related jobs saw losses which were offset by employment gains in engineering and scientific services.

• Government agencies: State and local governments employ about a fifth of geoscientists, while federal agencies account for just under one-tenth of geoscience employment. Between January and February 2025, state and local governments increased employment by 15,500 jobs while federal agencies posted job declines of 6,700.

• Mining and Oil & Gas: The continued shift towards employment in “support activities” rather than the primary resource companies led to an increase in jobs (+4,900) outside of the engineering roles.

Explore the data on the Working Geoscientists In the United States page.

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