• U.S. industrial firms employed 1.3 million engineers and 667,000 scientists in 1992. Between 1989 and 1992, total industrial science and engineering (S& E) employment increased at an average annual rate of 1.5 percent, considerably below the 3.6-percent rate registered during the preceding 9-year period. (For more information see: Chapter Background and Chapter Organization.)

• The total number of S& E jobs in the manufacturing sector fell for the first time in more than a decade. The number of jobs filled by engineers declined from 804,000 in 1989 to 767,000 in 1992. Four of the five largest engineering specialties and all five manufacturing industries employing the largest numbers of engineers had reductions. (For more information see: Manufacturing Employment of Engineers.)

• In the late 1980s, the nonmanufacturing sector overtook the manufacturing sector as the leading employer of scientists and engineers. More than 1 million scientists and engineers were employed in nonmanufacturing industries in 1992, a 12-percent increase over the 1989 level. (For more information see: Industrial S&E Employment in Nonmanufacturing.)

• The total number of technician jobs in industry climbed steadily during the 1980s, reaching a total of 1.5 million in 1989. Between 1989 and 1992, there was a cutback in technician jobs. Although there was a 3-percent gain in technician jobs in the nonmanufacturing sector, this increase was offset by an 11-percent decline in manufacturing industries. (For more information see: Manufacturing Employment of Technicians and Nonmanufacturing Employment of Technicians.)

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