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Data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Population Survey provides monthly occupational employment data to examine changes in geoscience employment over time. The chart shows monthly occupational data from January 2019 through April 2026.

The monthly average number of working geoscientists in the United States was 342,002 as of April 2026, an increase of 5% (16,585) since March 2026. The largest employment gains between March and April were for petroleum, mining and geological engineers, environmental scientists and geoscientists, environmental engineers, and atmospheric and space scientists. Occupations reporting declines between March and April 2026 included environmental science and geoscience technicians, conservation scientists, and geoscience engineering managers. Note that employment trends in environmental science and geoscience technician occupations are traditionally volatile due to work stops/starts, contract cycles, weather, etc.

The data for the chart below is available in Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) format: Monthly Geoscience Employment

About the data used in this chart:

Data is sourced from the US Census Bureau CPS Basic Monthly microdata file. The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of U.S. households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational data reported by the CPS describes a person’s job or the type of work they did during the reporting period, not their specific job title.

Note: No employment data is available for October 2025. See Footnote 25 at https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/data/datasets/cps-basic-footnotes.html