Business Career Statistics

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BusinessNot every career in business needs expertise in statistics, but knowing these numbers may help you pick a degree program and career path that's right for you.

  • Popular business careers and average annual earnings:
    • Management Analysts:
      535,850 jobs
      $82,920
    • Accountants:
      1.13 million jobs
      $65,840
    • Budget Analysts:
      62,630 jobs
      $68,140
    • Personal Financial Advisor:
      146,690 jobs
      $92,970
    • Statisticians:
      20,680 jobs
      $74,790
    • Medical and Health Services Managers:
      258,130 jobs
      $88,750
    • Executive and Administrative Assistants:
      1.4 million jobs
      $42,340
    • General and Operations Managers:
      1.69 million jobs
      $107,970
  • Management, scientific, and technical consulting is one of the fastest growing industries in the U.S., and one of the highest paying.
    • About 21% of management, scientific, and technical consultants are self-employed.
    • 95% of management, scientific, and technical consulting services employ fewer than 20 workers.
    • Roughly 74% of management, scientific, and technical consultants have a bachelor's or higher degree.
  • The finance and insurance sector is primarily engaged in financial transactions ( involving the creation, liquidation, or change in ownership of financial assets).
    • 5.7 million people are employed in the finance and insurance sector.
    • Just under 2% of finance and insurance employees are members of unions.
    • Over 95% of insurance companies employ fewer than 50 workers, but about 40% of insurance jobs are in companies with 250 or more employees.
    • About 44% of insurance workers are in office and administrative support positions.
    • About 29% of insurance workers are in management or business and financial operations jobs.
  • The securities, commodities, and investments industry comprises a diverse group of companies and organizations that manage the issuance, purchase, and sale of financial instruments.
    • Most workers (66%) in this industry hold bachelor's or higher degrees.
    • About 1 in 4 employees in this industry work 50 or more hours per week.
    • Only about 9% of securities, commodities and investment workers are part-time employees.
    • 60% of workers in this industry are employed by contract dealers and securities brokers; 38% work in other investment activities, including investment advice and portfolio management.
  • The manufacturing sector includes businesses engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products.
    • 11.7 million people are employed in the manufacturing sector
    • The unemployment rate in manufacturing is nearly 12%.
    • 12.3% of manufacturing workers are represented by unions
  • The health care and social assistance industry is the largest industry in the U.S.
    • Over 16 million workers are employed in health care and social assistance.
    • 18% of health care jobs are in office and administrative support.
    • 4% of health care jobs are in management, business, and financial operations
    • etail trade and health care & social assistance were close behind (over 14 million employees each).
  • The retail trade industry includes store and non-store merchandising.
    • 14.7 million workers are employed in retail
    • 5.9% of retail workers are represented by unions
  • Almost half of all business firms are owned by women. Number of businesses owned by:
    • Females – 6,492,795
    • Males – 13,185,703
    • Equally owned by male & female – 2,691,722
  • Almost 75% of all U.S. businesses do not have payroll – most are self-employed professionals operating an unincorporated business. Since they are small, these businesses without employees account for only 3% of business sales/receipts, so they are not even included in many surveys and business analyses.

Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov), Oct. 2009