Workforce
Workforce: Space Workforce – TSR 2015
2014 – Workforce
The space industry operates at the cutting edge of technology and requires a highly skilled, highly trained workforce to build, launch, and utilize space assets. Trends in the size and composition of this workforce provide insight into ongoing dynamics and future health of the sector.
2014 – U.S. Space Industry Salaries
The space industry is well known for its highly paid workforce, which generally provides salaries above the average even among science and engineering jobs. In 2013, the average salary in the U.S. civilian space workforce was $##, more than double the average private sector salary. The highest-paying sector, Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Manufacturing, had an average salary of nearly $##.
2014 – Trends and Events Affecting U.S. Employment
While trends in employment levels varied, wages grew across almost all sectors from 2008 to 2013, even accounting for inflation. In fact, the two industry sectors with the greatest percentage decreases in workforce size were those with the greatest increases in real wages. Average salaries for Satellite Telecommunications increased by ##%.
2014 – U.S. Space Workforce
The U.S. space workforce is one of the largest in the world, despite continued contraction. The U.S. civilian space workforce has declined ##% since peaking in 2006, employing ## employees in 2013. The increasing percentage of the workforce eligible for retirement, the lack of federal funding stability, and the competition in attracting highly qualified candidates may contribute to this trend.
2014 – U.S. National Security Workforce
U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) holds responsibility for military space operations, along with nuclear command and control, cybersecurity, and other strategic threats. Day-to-day planning and execution for USSTRATCOM’s space mission is carried out by the Joint Functional Component Command for Space (JFCC Space), headquartered at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
2014 – Other Space Employment
Most countries do not publicly release regular reports on the size of their space workforce, making analysis of trends over time difficult or impossible. However, point assessments of the size or activities within these space nations still provide useful insight into the health of the global space workforce.
2014 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Employment
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has not shared in the workforce growth trend seen in the country as a whole. Instead, JAXA has remained relatively steady in recent years, gaining 6 employees from 2013 to 2014. In the past five years, from 2009 to 2014, employment at JAXA decreased by ##%. JAXA lost ## employees between 2004 and 2014, a decline of ##%.
2014 – Japanese Space Industry Employment
From 2012 to 2013, Japan saw a ##% decrease in its workforce, shedding about ## jobs, for a total of ## space workers in 2013. Overall employment is still well above the 2008 low of ## employees, having grown ##% since then. This growth has not yet returned Japan to employment levels seen in the 1990s, when the Japanese space industry employed more than ## workers.
2014 – European Space Industry Employment
Each year, Eurospace, an association of the European space manufacturing industry, carries out a survey of the European space industry. The survey focuses on design, development, and manufacturing; it does not include companies specializing in space services, such as launch or satellite operations, nor non-space products, such as GPS receivers or satellite TV dishes. Some well-known European space companies, including Arianespace, SES Global, Eutelsat, and Inmarsat, are thus not included in the survey. Together, these companies would add thousands of employees.