Managerial, Professional, and Technical Jobs

Managers, professionals, and technicians as a share of the total workforce.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The rise of new industries has meant the rise of new jobs, while new technology and new ways of organizing work have transformed many existing jobs. Both trends have changed the occupational mix in America. In particular, managerial and professional jobs have increased as a share of total employment from 22 percent in 1979 to 28.4 percent in 1995. These workers include, among others, managers, engineers and scientists, health professionals, lawyers, teachers, accountants, bankers, consultants, and engineering technicians.9

THE RANKINGS: States with high rankings tend to have a large number of corporate or regional headquarters. In Connecticut, for example, Hartford is home to insurance and defense headquarters, while southwestern Connecticut is dominated by corporate headquarters (such as Pitney Bowes), financial services, and high-tech jobs—many of which have moved out of New York City. Some states that score well in the office jobs indicator (such as Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, and Rhode Island) don’t do as well on managerial and professional jobs, suggesting many of the office jobs are “back office” processing jobs (for example, insurance and banking in Rhode Island). In contrast, states such as Kansas, New Mexico, Virginia, and Washington have larger agricultural and manufacturing industries, but score well because they have headquarters and/or government jobs which employ a large number of managers.

STATES BY RANK
Rank	State	Score
1	Massachusetts	34.9%
2	Connecticut	30.3%
3	Virginia	29.6%
4	Colorado	27.9%
5	Delaware	27.8%
6	Washington	27.7%
7	Minnesota	27.7%
8	Illinois	27.7%
9	Maryland	27.5%
10	New Hampshire	26.9%
11	Kansas	26.4%
12	Pennsylvania	26.4%
13	New Mexico	26.4%
14	California	26.3%
15	New Jersey	25.7%
16	Florida	25.6%
17	Louisiana	25.5%
18	Nebraska	25.4%
19	Rhode Island	25.3%
20	Alaska	25.3%
21	Georgia	25.1%
22	North Carolina	24.9%
23	Ohio	24.6%
24	Arizona	24.5%
25	New York	24.3%
26	Oklahoma	24.2%
27	Tennessee	23.8%
28	Maine	23.7%
29	South Carolina	23.6%
30	Wisconsin	23.6%
31	Missouri	23.5%
32	Vermont	23.5%
33	West Virginia	23.1%
34	Kentucky	23.1%
35	Alabama	22.6%
36	Indiana	22.3%
37	Oregon	22.3%
38	Iowa	22.1%
39	Utah	22.1%
40	Hawaii	22.0%
41	Wyoming	21.8%
42	Montana	21.6%
43	Arkansas	20.9%
44	Mississippi	20.9%
45	Michigan	20.5%
46	Idaho	19.9%
47	Texas	19.5%
48	South Dakota	19.5%
49	North Dakota	18.1%
50	Nevada	17.8%

	U.S. average	24.9%

ALPHABETICALLY
State	Rank	Score
Alabama	35	22.6%
Alaska	20	25.3%
Arizona	24	24.5%
Arkansas	43	20.9%
California	14	26.3%
Colorado	4	27.9%
Connecticut	2	30.3%
Delaware	5	27.8%
Florida	16	25.6%
Georgia	21	25.1%
Hawaii	40	22.0%
Idaho	46	19.9%
Illinois	8	27.7%
Indiana	36	22.3%
Iowa	38	22.1%
Kansas	11	26.4%
Kentucky	34	23.1%
Louisiana	17	25.5%
Maine	28	23.7%
Maryland	9	27.5%
Massachusetts	1	34.9%
Michigan	45	20.5%
Minnesota	7	27.7%
Mississippi	44	20.9%
Missouri	31	23.5%
Montana	42	21.6%
Nebraska	18	25.4%
Nevada	50	17.8%
New Hampshire	10	26.9%
New Jersey	15	25.7%
New Mexico	13	26.4%
New York	25	24.3%
North Carolina	22	24.9%
North Dakota	49	18.1%
Ohio	23	24.6%
Oklahoma	26	24.2%
Oregon	37	22.3%
Pennsylvania	12	26.4%
Rhode Island	19	25.3%
South Carolina	29	23.6%
South Dakota	48	19.5%
Tennessee	27	23.8%
Texas	47	19.5%
Utah	39	22.1%
Vermont	32	23.5%
Virginia	3	29.6%
Washington	6	27.7%
West Virginia	33	23.1%
Wisconsin	30	23.6%
Wyoming	41	21.8%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1997 data.

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