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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

Does the government employ most of the nation’s scientists and engineers?

By Emanuela Podda Ankrom
NO

In 2017, government accounted for 10.6% of the country’s science and engineering jobs, according to data from the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. Nearly 5% of scientists and engineers were employed by the federal government and nearly 6% were employed at the state or local level.

The business sector is the largest employer of these professionals, employing 71.2% of more than 27 million U.S. scientists and engineers. The education sector is the second-largest job provider, employing 18%. (Universities rely on federal support for about 60% of their own research funding, so some jobs in the education sector depend indirectly on the government.)

Private industry’s share increased compared with 2013, when it accounted for 61.6% of total jobs, while government’s share declined from 12.2%.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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