Workforce
U.S. Space Workforce
Workforce: Workforce and Education – TSR 2011
2010 – U.S. Space Industry Employment – Snapshot
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, which regularly surveys local, state, and national workforce trends across the entire range of U.S. economic activity, offers the broadest source of U.S. space industry workforce data. Data from the six space-related industry sectors shown in Exhibit 4c forms the basis for a detailed assessment of U.S. space employment and salary trends.
2010 – U.S. Space Industry Employment Snapshot
2010 – Official U.S. Workforce Statistics – Snapshot
Another issue facing the U.S. space industry is the demographic challenge associated with the retirement of veteran space employees and the entry of a new workforce. As shown in the exhibit NASA Civil Servant Workforce Age Profiles Over Time, the NASA workforce is concentrated in an age band from 45 to 54 years of age.
2010 – NASA Geographical Distribution – Snapshot
At Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, the contractor workforce is anticipated to be reduced from ## in 2009 to approximately ## by the time the shuttle ceases operations. Impacts of this job loss are expected to significantly affect the local economy beyond space industry unemployment alone. The workforce development agency in Brevard County, where KSC is located, estimates that up to ## jobs in total will be lost in the county as a result of the NASA contractor downsizing.
2010 – NASA Demographics – Snapshot
Since 2004, NASA has been planning for the retirement of the Space Shuttle, scheduled to fly its last mission in 2011. The shuttle was to be replaced by the Constellation Program, which would have had both a smaller budget and workforce. In fiscal year (FY) 2009, approximately ## civil servants and ## contractors were employed nationwide by either the Shuttle or Constellation Program.
2010 – U.S. National Security Workforce – Snapshot
The U.S. private-sector and civil space workforce is complemented by a group of military space professionals maintained by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). The development of a dedicated DoD “space cadre” stemmed in part from a 2001 report by the Space Commission of the U.S. National Security Space Office (NSSO) noting that the DoD was “not yet on course to develop the space cadre the nation needs.”
2010 – U.S. Space Industry Salaries – Snapshot
In 2009, the average salary across the six core U.S. space industry sectors was $##. This was more than double the average private-sector salary of $##. The gap between space and general private-sector wages is even more pronounced within certain industry sectors. In 2009, professionals in two of the six space sectors analyzed earned an average salary in excess of six figures.
2010 – Trends and Events Affecting U.S. Employment – Snapshot
Though the U.S. workforce has remained robust over the past decade, the future of the space industry in the United States deserves careful analysis and consideration. The workforce is likely to be affected by the retirement of the Space Shuttle and recent changes in NASA’s human spaceflight program.