Still searching: job vacancies and STEM skills

This report uses a unique database from the labor market information company Burning Glass and other sources to analyze the skill requirements and the advertisement duration time for millions of job openings. It reaches the following conclusions: (1) job openings for [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] STEM positions take longer to fill than openings in other fields; (2) specific high-value skills requested by employers and common to STEM occupations are particularly scarce relative to demand and yet particularly valuable to employers; and (3) the regional supply of workers in a given occupation affects the length of vacancy advertisements.

These job openings data provide new evidence that, post-recession, STEM skills, particularly those associated with high levels of educational attainment, are in high demand among employers. Meanwhile, job seekers possessing neither STEM knowledge nor higher education face extraordinary levels of competition for a scarce number of jobs. Governments at all levels, educators, training organizations, and civic leaders can utilize job vacancy data to better understand the opportunities available to workers and the specific skills required of them. Improving educational and training opportunities to acquire STEM knowledge should be part of any strategy to help unemployed or low-wage workers improve their earnings and employability.

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