Employment rate: A measure of the extent to which people available to work are being used. It is calculated as the ratio of the employed to the population of interest. For more information, see https://data.oecd.org/emp/employment-rate.htm.

Foreign-born workers: Those whose nativity is outside of the United States, regardless of citizenship. Foreign-born workers may be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Full-time, year-round workers: Workers who were employed at least 50 weeks in the preceding year (year round) and worked at least 35 hours per week during that year (full time).

Labor force: A subset of the population that includes only those who are employed and those who are not working but actively seeking work (unemployed).

Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA): A core-based statistical area designated by the Office of Management and Budget. It represents a core area containing at least one urban area with a population of 50,000 or more, together with adjacent communities that have a high degree of economic and social integration with the core area. For more information, visit https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/about.html.

STEM middle-skill occupations: A range of occupations that require a high level of science technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) expertise to perform their core duties, although these occupations do not require a bachelor’s degree for entry. STEM middle-skill occupations are primarily in health care; construction; installation, maintenance, and repair; and production. See Table SLBR-1 for a full list.

Noncitizens: A subset of foreign-born workers who are temporarily in the United States on visas or are permanent residents. This includes temporary visa holders on H-1B, J-1, and L-1 visas and Green Card holders.

Non-STEM occupations: Primarily includes occupations in management (excluding science and engineering [S&E] and S&E-related managers, industrial production managers, and farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers), sales (excluding sales engineers), transportation and material moving (excluding transportation inspectors and pumping station operators), office and administrative support, and education and training. See Table SLBR-1 for a full list of non-STEM occupations.

Non-STEM workforce or non-STEM workers: A subset of the U.S. workforce in non-STEM occupations (see non-STEM occupations).

Postdoctoral researcher (postdoc): A temporary position awarded in academia, industry, government, or a nonprofit organization, primarily for gaining additional education and training in research after completion of a doctorate.

Public Use Microdata Area (PUMA): The smallest level of geography available in the American Community Survey. PUMAs are geographic areas that contain at least 100,000 people and do not cross state lines.

S&E degree fields: Degree fields at the bachelor’s level or higher in the following categories: (1) computer and mathematical sciences; (2) biological, agricultural, and environmental life sciences; (3) physical and related sciences; (4) social sciences; and (5) engineering. At the doctoral degree level, the medical and health sciences are included under S&E (i.e., science, engineering, and health) because these data correspond to the doctorate holder’s research or scholarship degree level, which are research-focused degrees. For detailed degree fields within these major categories, see the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) Taxonomy of Disciplines (NCSES SDR 2019: Table A-1).

S&E occupations: Occupations in the following five major categories: (1) computer and mathematical scientists; (2) biological, agricultural, and environmental life scientists; (3) physical scientists; (4) social scientists; and (5) engineers. For more details and examples of the minor and fine S&E occupations, see the NCSES Taxonomy of Occupations (NCSES NSCG WMPD 2017: Technical Table A-1).

S&E-related degree fields: Degree fields at the bachelor’s level or higher in the following categories: (1) health, science, and mathematics teacher education; (2) technology and technical fields; and (3) other S&E-related fields. For detailed degree fields within these categories, see the NCSES Taxonomy of Disciplines (NCSES SDR 2019: Table A-1).

S&E-related occupations: These occupations require science and technology expertise but are not part of the five major categories of the S&E occupations. S&E-related occupations include these four minor occupations: (1) health, (2) S&E managers, (3) S&E precollege teachers, and (4) technologists and technicians. For more detail and examples of S&E-related occupations, see the NCSES Taxonomy of Occupations (NCSES NSCG WMPD 2017: Technical Table A-1).

Skilled technical workforce (STW): Workers in S&E (see S&E occupations), S&E-related (see S&E-related occupations), and STEM middle-skill occupations (see STEM middle-skill occupations) who do not have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Stay rate: The proportion of foreign recipients of U.S. S&E doctorates who expect to stay or stay in the United States after receiving their doctorate.

STEM fields or STEM degree fields: A subset of degree fields comprised of S&E (see S&E degree fields) and S&E-related (see S&E-related degree fields) degree fields.

STEM occupations or STEM groups: A subset of occupations comprised of S&E, S&E-related, and STEM middle-skill occupations. Each of these groups is a STEM group, and the occupations within them are STEM occupations.

STEM workforce or STEM workers: A subset of the U.S. workforce comprised of S&E (see S&E occupations), S&E-related (see S&E-related occupations), and STEM middle-skill occupations (see STEM middle-skill occupations).

Underrepresented demographic groups: Races or ethnicities whose representation in S&E education and S&E employment is smaller than their representation in the U.S. population. This includes Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, and American Indians or Alaska Natives.

Workforce: A subset of the labor force that includes only employed individuals.

ACS: American Community Survey

BLS: Bureau of Labor Statistics

CPS: Current Population Survey

MSA: Metropolitan Statistical Area

NCSES: National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics

NSB: National Science Board

NSCG: National Survey of College Graduates

NSF: National Science Foundation

PUMA: Public Use Microdata Area

PUMS: Public Use Microdata Sample

R&D: research and development

S&E: science and engineering

SDR: Survey of Doctorate Recipients

SED: Survey of Earned Doctorates

SEH: science, engineering, and health

SIPP: Survey of Income and Program Participation

STEM: science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

STW: skilled technical workforce